Two-time NBA Champion and current TNT analyst Kenny Smith shares his thoughts on the Warriors.
Last week, prior to Golden State’s victory over the Washington Wizards, I had the chance to sit down with two-time NBA Champion and current TNT analyst Kenny Smith to discuss his thoughts on the Warriors, as well as some of his current charitable endeavors. See what Kenny had to say below about, amongst other things, his memories of Oracle Arena, his championship experience, the Splash Brothers, the Warriors’ pursuit of history, and his ongoing association with the Coors Light Full Court reFRESH program.
Q: Lots of questions for you, but first, I know you’re here tonight in part to promote your ongoing involvement with Coors Light and their Full Court reFRESH campaign. What is the Full Court reFRESH program, and what made you want to get involved?
KS: Well, actually, I've been in it since it's inception. They talked to me about refurbishing courts and things of that nature and then they started adding certain things that I wanted to put on as well, but I just thought it was always a great opportunity to give back to the community without selling product. You know, I wasn’t talking about, ‘Hey, have a drink with me.’ No, we’re talking about refurbishing courts, making a community feel good about itself, and people are paying attention to things in their community.
Q: How does the program go about deciding which cities will be included?
KS: It’s a collective effort, with a lot of different people. Obviously, the Coors Light team. Even myself – I picked, in New York City, two or three locations there. Places I grew up. We work with a lot of the urban leagues as well. They’ve been instrumental over the years in helping identify places in need. But the biggest thing is, I always felt the court in the neighborhood is kind of the centerpiece – kind of like the flower pot in the middle of the table – and if it looks good, you start feeling good about your community, and I thought that was big.
Q: How can people get involved? What do they need to do to participate?
KS: The biggest thing is, if you tweet and use the hashtags #fullcourtreFRESH and #over21, a dollar is donated in your community. Every dollar that there’s a tweet, up to $25,000. It puts a lot of dollars inside a community, just by tweeting. That’s the easiest and the best way to get involved.
Q: Going to change gears a bit here. You’re back at Oracle Arena. Obviously you’ve been here plenty of times, more recently as an analyst, but what was it like as an opposing player to play here?
KS: Well that was the Run TMC days, so the excitement was in the building. I don’t know if it’s the same excitement that these guys are bringing, but it was close. I’m from New York – I always felt it was like a New York City crowd. They will appreciate even the opposing team when they’re doing things well. These guys are doing something special this year that no one has ever done and no one will have done. I think they’re going to break the record, I’ve been saying that for a while. They’re fun to watch. I’m here for [fullcourt reFRESH], but I brought my whole family here. Everybody, seven of them, we’re all here. This is the greatest show on earth right now.
Q: Any specific memories come to mind?
KS: You know what’s fun – I also played in Sacramento, and they used to have that trophy, the Mayor’s Trophy, between Sacramento and Golden State, and I won the Mayor’s Trophy here once. We had a better record against them than us – I think we used to play them six times then, so we won like 4-2. So, the Mayor’s Trophy. Bring it back. I don’t think they’re playing for the Mayor’s Trophy this year though.
Q: You won back-to-back championships with the Rockets. We’ve seen the Warriors get their opponents’ best effort throughout the season. Outside of that, what would you say was the toughest thing about repeating?
KS: I call it ‘Fat Cat-itis’. You know, where guys who typically don’t get a lot of attention start getting it, and guys who get a lot get so much more. And you have to fight against that complacency. My dad had a saying, “It’s hard to work hard when you’re sleeping in silk robes.” And so being in those silk robes and being comfortable with being a Champion instead of being a competitor – that was the toughest thing to fight.
Q: Do you see any similarities between those Rockets and these Warriors teams? Any particular player parallels?
KS: No, actually, I don’t think they…our second championship, we went through it. The way Steph Curry started the season, he didn’t allow that to happen, because he came out with such vigor for an MVP. He set the tone, and then everyone else – Draymond, even Klay at times wasn’t the same guy that he was last year – but he allowed them to get there, and now [Klay]’s back in terms of the last 35-40 games, he’s been pretty much the same guy we saw last year. So, [Curry] allowed guys to come on board. He had probably the most impressive 1.5-2 months that I’ve ever seen in NBA history.
Q: As an analyst, do you find yourself watching certain teams more than others, or do you try to balance it equally?
KS: Oh, of course. No, I’m not going to watch certain teams play unless they’re playing the best, because I have to measure you against the best. If I watch you plays against your peers, and you’re both well below .500, I’m not getting a true evaluation of how good you are. I need to see you against San Antonio, I need to see you against Golden State, I need to see you against Cleveland. So I’m going to watch those guys so much more than I’m going to watch anyone else, because I’m evaluating everyone, and they’re my litmus paper to everyone else.
Q: What differences do you see between this year’s Warriors team, and the one that won the championship last season?
KS: I think they’re deeper this year. Even though it’s a lot of the same personnel, I think they’re deeper in the sense that they’re utilized more, and expected to do more. Their responsibilities have picked up – from Barbosa to Shaun Livingston, everyone – their responsibilities are much higher than they had last year. I thought the expectation was like, ‘Okay, this is a bonus.’ Now, it’s like, ‘No, if you don’t do this, we don’t win.’ And that’s why the numbers have gone to a 67 to possibly a 73-win team.
Q: What has impressed you the most about the Warriors this season?
KS: I would say their intensity to detail. The fact that they stay intense to detail for such a long time is probably the most impressive thing.
Q: On your way to the second of your back-to-back championships, you guys weren’t a top seed (6th, actually). In what ways did your experience from the prior year help you guys in the playoffs?
KS: You never had a doubt that you could lose. Even though you were a 6-seed, even though the game was tight, even though they were up eight with three minutes to go – you were like, ‘Well, I’ve been in positions like this and we’ve won. So, why can’t we do it now?’ So your expectation level builds your confidence, which allows you to continue to play hard in moments of adversity. Because you’re going to have adversity, but can you continue to play hard during those moments. That was the difference.
Q: I looked it up. You made 664 three-pointers in your career. Steph Curry and Klay Thompson might combine for that many this season. Did you ever imagine the three-point shot becoming as prevalent as it is in the game today?
KS: Oh yea, oh yea. I was never from the school of thought that you live by the jump shot and die by it. That only happens for guys that can’t shoot. If you can shoot, you’re talking Ray Allen and Reggie Miller – they made a career out of shooting that shot. And I think the one thing that they do here, they do mix it up. They have a great deal of mix-up inside of it. It’s not the only thing that they do. If he’s taking 10 threes in a game, he’s taking 10 shots inside the three-point line, too, and he’s getting to the rim. So their ability to get to the rim and get layups really separates them as traditional just-shooters.
Q: You were there at All-Star Weekend. What was it like to witness that three-point contest in person?
KS: Oh, it was great. It almost took over the dunk contest until this year, but those two guys, they shoot the ball with such proficiency, it’s fun to watch. Everyone can go to the court and shoot threes. Everyone who has played basketball has done something like that. Not everyone can say they can dunk. So when you see the proficiency with how they’re shooting it, it marvels everyone, because everyone who has picked up a basketball can say they’ve gone and shot a three-pointer.
Q: At your personal shooting peak, do you think you could have given the Splash Brothers a run for their money that night?
KS: In practice (laughs). With those lights on, I don’t know. Great shooters always think they can shoot. That’s one thing you can continually get better at. But their proficiency in a game – especially Steph – is like none other. Everyone says, ‘Is he the greatest shooter ever?’ I think he’s the greatest shooter ever, only because there are three types of shots that you can be great at. There’s spot shots, there’s off-the-dribble shots, and then there’s catch-and-shoot off the move. He shoots the same accuracy on all three, which is the rarest thing. Most guys master two, definitely one, but he’s mastered three.
Q: You are one of only a handful of players to ever participate in both the dunk and three-point contests though...
KS: I’m the only one that ever did it on the same day!
Q: The Warriors broke the Rockets’ record for the best start to a season earlier this year. Now they’re looking to match your Rockets with their second-straight championship. Any bitterness there?
KS: No! I think I might have been the first to say they’re going to get it. I was like, “They’re gonna get us. They’re gonna get our start of season record.” This was like when they were 9-0. You can see it when it’s happening - same way we knew we were going to get it. We were at seven, eight – I was like, ‘Oh we’re gonna get this record. We’re playing too well.’ You could see it. And you don’t see it on the court. You see it in all the stuff on the sidelines, you see it in the timeouts, you see it in the interactions – that’s what I look for. And I saw it. And I see 73.
Q: Finally, the playoffs are right around the corner. What are you most looking forward to?
KS: San Antonio vs. Golden State. That’s what I’m looking forward to. When that happens, that’s the NBA Championship to me right there. And they both will be there, and they will be waiting on each other. There’s no doubt about it that those two teams will be there, without question.