What happened to Kenny Smith’s knees? Has the Inside the NBA host had surgery? People are wondering what is wrong with Kenny Smith’s knees as the host regularly appears to struggle on TV. Here’s everything we know.
How tall is Kenny Smith?
Kenny Smith is a former NBA player turned sports commentator who regularly appears on Inside the NBA with Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley.
Smith is a two-time NBA champion with the Houston Rockets and has won an Emmy for his broadcasting work on TNT.
He was the 6th overall pick in the 1987 draft and stands at 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m).
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Kenny Smith’s knees have been the butt of many a joke
Kenny Smith’s knees have been mocked several times on Inside the NBA.
Smith has made a competition out of running to the halftime report screen first over the years, with Shaq and Charles often trying to beat him to it.
During this segment, Kenny’s knee issues can be seen as he runs a certain way.
Victor Oladipo even appeared as a guest on the show once and mocked Smith over the way he runs.
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Furthermore, several years ago the crew – including Chris Webber – had a race to see who was the quickest.
The race spawned the infamous ‘run through the tape’ moment, as Smith slowed down towards the end of the race and was pipped by Webber.
Smith’s running style and knees can be seen fairly visibly during this footage.
What is actually wrong with Kenny Smith’s knees? Is he knock-kneed or has he had surgery?
Kenny Smith has never publicly stated what the issue is with his knees, but plenty of people have speculated.
Some people think he has bad tendinitis, while others believe he was born that way and is just knock-kneed.
Some, however, say it’s simply the effects of wear and tear playing in college and the NBA. Because of this he may have had to have surgery.
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One person wrote: ‘Many ex-players have lifelong knee problems not only from playing a sport for so long at a high level year in and year out, but from the fact that they are taller and naturally taller people put more stress on their knees to stabilise a larger structure.’
‘Kenny Smith has already had one knee replacement surgery and has some sort of arthritis.’
‘As hinted before, he may always been ever-so-slightly knock-kneed. My guess is that his knees are losing the ligaments between the bones they are reacting by pushing further inward.’
Others add it’s just the effects of getting older.
