ESPN announced on Wednesday that Inside the NBA analyst Kenny Smith has signed a multi-year deal to appear on the network’s programming. The details on how Smith will be utilized on ESPN are vague, but the press release stated that Smith will be “primarily contributing to First Take” and added that he will “serve as an analyst for select NBA games.”
Additionally, the press release promised that Smith would make a “special guest appearance” for Wednesday night’s edition of NBA Countdown ahead of an ESPN NBA doubleheader.
That was indeed the case, with Smith making a grand entrance to join host Malika Andrews and analysts Kendrick Perkins and Michael Malone in-studio to open NBA Countdown.
Kenny Smith makes his ‘NBA Countdown’ debut on ESPN. 🏀📺🎙️ #NBA
You can read more about Kenny Smith signing a deal to appear on ESPN programming here: https://t.co/64VhyVJIHf pic.twitter.com/d8TV3wmEyp
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 6, 2025
Wednesday night’s doubleheader features the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers facing off in the late game, and NBA Countdown began with a discussion on 21-year-old Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama.
“His averages are at a level we haven’t seen by any player since Hakeem (Olajuwon), your teammate, Kenny, in 1993,” Andrews said. “We’ve seen the stats. We’ve seen the highlights. What have you seen from Victor?”
“Well, it’s interesting you said Hakeem,” Smith responded. “When we played together, and we’d look at the other team’s scouting report; sometimes they would leave it on the board, and we’d come back in. The shots they were trying to make him take were the ones he was looking for. So, the same thing with Victor Wembanyama. You’re trying to get him into a stepback three. No, he’s looking for that. You were trying to send Hakeem Olajuwon baseline with two guys. He’s looking for the baseline spin.”
“So, that’s what makes him difficult to guard,” Smith continued. “The shots that you traditionally would say, ‘We want this guy to take!’ That’s the shot he’s looking for. So, how can you stop someone when he’s indefensible on the offensive end? And then on the defensive end, Perk, if you come in there weak, he’s punching it! He’s punching it!”
“The Jet” also went to the court to do a breakdown of New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson.
Kenny Smith breaks down Jalen Brunson’s play style — and how it’s fueling the Knicks’ success ✍️
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— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) November 6, 2025
Kenny Smith offers a reasonable voice to complement the banter that takes place alongside Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal on Inside the NBA, and he would be able to put the same qualities to use alongside Perkins and personalities like Stephen A. Smith if ESPN chooses to feature him on NBA Countdown more. And that will likely be the sort of role Smith plays on the hot-take, debate-style show that is First Take.
Inside the NBA made its ESPN debut on Oct. 22 after a licensing deal was struck with Warner Bros. Discovery last November to bring the longtime TNT Sports show over to ESPN. The Inside the NBA schedule is very limited in the early part of the 2025-26 NBA season, with the next show on Nov. 12, followed by Christmas Day, followed by Jan. 24. So, that helps the availability for ESPN to use Smith in other ways.