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Kenny Smith Net Worth

Kenny Smith Net Worth
Net Worth$16,000,000
Full NameKenny Smith
Date of Birth/AgeMarch 8, 1965 (age 54)
Height6’3”
Source of wealthProfessional Basketball Player, Sport Commentator
Country of originU.S.
State/City of originQueens, New York
Last Updated2019

What is Kenny Smith’s Net Worth?

Kenny Smith’s net worth is $16 million.

What is Kenny Smith’s Yearly Salary?

He makes $4 million a year as a sports commentator. During his career as a basketball player, his highest yearly salary was $13 million.

Smith has kept himself busy since his retirement in 1997. That same year, he signed up as an analyst on the award-winning TNT show Inside the NBA. It also stars Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, and Shaquille O’Neal.

How Did Kenny Smith Make His Money?

Smith is a retired professional basketball player. He was drafted to the NBA in 1987. His first team was the Sacramento Kings. He later played for the Atlanta Hawks, Houston Rockets, Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic and Denver Nuggets.

Smith is currently a basketball analyst on Inside the NBA. He also works as an analyst for CBS/Turner during the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament.

 

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Kenny Smith Ealy Life and Career

As a boy growing up in Queens, Smith attended Archbishop John Molloy Preparatory School. His basketball coach was the legendary John Curran, the “winningest coach” in New York City and New York state history.

After he graduated, Smith attended North Carolina University on a basketball scholarship.

Smith has often said that his greatest mentor was former South Carolina State star, Bobby Lewis. Lewis averaged more than 30 points per game and was a First Team Division II All-American as a senior at South Carolina State.

He later developed the Bobby Lewis Basketball Skills Development Program.

Smith believes that Lewis’s training plan was key to his own development as a player. He is such a strong believer in Lewis’s program that he used it throughout his college career and his professional NBA career.

 

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College Career

Smith continued to play well in college. He entered North Carolina with his fellow teammate Michael Jordan. During his time there, the North Carolina Tar Heels made it all the way to the Elite Eight in 1985. They lost to Villanova.

While he was in college, Smith scored 12.9 points and 6.0 assists per game. North Carolina continued to be a top-ranked college powerhouse during Smith’s years there.

The Tar Heels had two Elite Eight appearances and one Sweet Sixteen appearance. They also won the ACC Conference twice during those years.

 

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Professional Career

Smith was signed by the Sacramento Kings during the 1987 NBA draft. His coach was Hall of Fame inductee Bill Russell.

At the end of the season, the Kings traded him to the Houston Rockets. During most of his years at the Rockets, Smith averaged 11.7 points and 4.5 assists per game, with a three-point percentage of .425.

During his fifth year, Smith was showing signs of slowing down. He was not playing as well as he had during the previous years. During this time, the Rockets began giving more time to fellow point guard Sam Cassell.

At the end of his sixth season, Smith signed with the Detroit Pistons. He played only nine games with them. He then went to the Orlando Magic. He played only six games with Orlando before signing with the Denver Nuggets.

 

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Broadcasting Career

Smith had a decent but inspiring final year with the Denver Nuggets. After that, he retired and went to work at TNT. He started on the show as a studio analyst and then joined as a full-time commentator.

Smith also provides commentary during New York Knicks games on the MSG channel. He is a regular analyst for CBS during the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournaments.

Career Highlights

  • Two-time NBA champion.
  • NBA All-Rookie First Team.
  • Consensus First Team All-American.

 

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Career Statistics

  • 9,397 points (12.8 avg.).
  • 4073 assists while shooting.
  • NBA top 10 in three-point percentage three times (1992–93, 1993–94 and 1994–95).
  • NBA top 10 in free-throw percentage twice (1992–93 and 1993–94).
  • Still holds the Denver Nuggets franchise record for career three-point percentage (.425).
  • 1454 rebounds.

Relationships

Smith married British model Gwendolyn Osborne in 2005. She had previously worked as a model on the TV show The Price is Right. They divorced in 2018.

Smith was previously married to Dawn Reavis.

He has four children named Kayla Brianna, Kenneth Jr (K.J.), Malloy Adrian and London Olivia.

 

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Divorce

In 2019, Smith’s ex-wife Osborne filed court papers requesting that TNT garnish Smith’s paychecks from Inside the NBA to pay child support and spousal support.

Osborne said that she did not want to involve the court system but felt she had no recourse. She said that Smith has consistently refused to pay her or to meet with her attorneys to settle the payment dispute.

In her court filing, Osborne requested $16,562 a month for child support and another $28,898 a month for spousal support.

Charity Work

In 2018, Smith partnered with Lowe’s hardware chain to kick off “Renovation Across the Nation.” This is a project that renovates neighborhood children’s clubs to give kids a safe, clean place to hang out after school.

Each club selected for the event will receive a $50,000 grant for repairs and many hours of volunteer work to refurbish and rebuild the club. The volunteers are known as “Lowe’s Heroes.”

The first one announced was the Salvation Army Peachcrest Boys & Girls Club in Atlanta. In a statement about the new initiative, Smith recalled his own days growing up on a basketball court in New York.

“It feels good to know that youth at this Atlanta area Boys & Girls Club will have access to a nice space where they can engage in physical activity, as I know firsthand the positive impact sports can have on a young child,” said Smith.

“Teaming up with Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Lowe’s is very important to me because I know creating a safe environment that allows kids and teens to be themselves will have a positive impact on their future.”

 

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Favorite Quotes from Kenny Smith

“If you put 100 people on an island, with no food, no water, no hope of a ship coming, then some will become resourceful and overcome it, others will panic and some will show horrific character, which is wrong. But not to understand that all alternatives are possible is also wrong.”

“I’ve always thought, it’s not that the greatest players in the world come from New York. It’s just that the guys who shouldn’t have made it, they came from New York. That’s what makes New York special.”

Success Tips from Kenny Smith

  1. “My high school coach used to tell me that there was no correct way to shoot, that the only correct way was to get the ball into the basket.”
  2. “I’ve been an NBA player and a black man for a long time. I know how to take a loss.”