SALT LAKE CITY — NBA All-Star Weekend is back in Salt Lake City for the first time since 1993 and ahead of the fun, Kenny "The Jet' Smith sat down with FOX 13 News to take a walk down memory lane as well as talk about a charity event he's hosting.
Smith, now a TNT analyst, played on various teams throughout his NBA career and won two championships with the Rockets in 1994 and 1995.
"I've been blessed to win two championships," Smith said. "My first [ring] I gave to my father, my second [ring] I gave to my brother. The two people who helped me get there."
He participated in the dunk contest during NBA All-Star Weekend in Salt Lake City in 1993 and said jokingly he "hasn't changed a bit."
Smith described what fans should expect this weekend in Salt Lake City.
"30 years later for all you people who have not seen the All-Star and been part of it, just imagine trading cards and they're all walking around your city," he said.
Before he was an NBA player, Smith said he was a huge basketball fan and loved running around collecting autographs from his favorite legends.
"This is the best moment if you're a sports basketball fan to be in because everyone in basketball is in Utah today," he said.
When asked what his favorite memory was when playing against the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City, Smith said laughingly, "well, we won!"
"The fans were so great," he remembered. "Nine out of ten players in that era, even now probably, said that this was a place that had so much texture in terms of the fans."
Smith also said his relationship with Jazz legend John Stockton helped boost his leadership skills.
"The greatest two players to possibly ever play in the game are Karl Malone and John Stockton," he explained. "I remember after winning a series, I said 'I think I'm going to win the NBA championship' and I went up to John Stockton and said 'I think I'm going to help my team win because playing against you I learned a lot.'"
"If I hadn't played against the Jazz I wouldn't have known how to be a leader the way Stockton was," Smith said.
Smith also discussed a charity poker tournament he is hosting Friday night which includes a packed guest list with many celebrities as well as current and former NBA players.
"It's for education reform," he explained, "Which is, giving everyone an opportunity, everyone across the board, all ethnic groups an opportunity to have a higher education."
