The night Kenny Smith walked off the Inside the NBA set in 2020, millions of viewers saw an emotional television moment unfold live. What they did not see was the internal battle already happening inside his head before the cameras even rolled.

Six years later, while appearing on The Pivot Podcast, Smith revealed the voices guiding him that night after the NBA postponed playoff games following the police shooting of Jacob Blake. The two-time NBA champion explained that the decision was not planned. Instead, it came from years of lessons passed down by his family, coaches, and especially legendary North Carolina coach Dean Smith.

“Honestly, I didn’t plan that. I had no idea that I was going to do that when I walked into the studio that day,” Smith admitted on the podcast. “But it was really just the history of the people that raised me. I was hearing all of their voices in my head. From my dad, to my coaches, to Wilmont Benjamin, who was my middle school coach, to Dean Smith.”

Smith specifically credited Dean Smith for shaping the mindset that eventually pushed him to walk off the TNT set in solidarity with NBA players.

“You know what Dean Smith’s first conversation to me was when I was a freshman?” Kenny recalled. “He brings me into the office and says, ‘Kenny, what are you going to do for African Americans on this campus?'”

At the time, Nelson Mandela was still imprisoned in South Africa, and anti-apartheid protests had spread across college campuses. Dean Smith even told Kenny that if he ever missed practice or class to support activism, he would support the decision.

“He was the first white person that ever asked me, ‘What am I doing for the Black race?'” Smith said.

“So all of those voices were in my head when I’m walking in,” Smith explained. “And that day, everything felt normal. I came out of the hotel, people were saying, ‘Have a good show.’ And I’m sitting there thinking, ‘Everything ain’t normal. This is not normal.'”

The timing of the moment made everything heavier. Earlier that day, the Milwaukee Bucks had refused to leave the locker room for their playoff game against the Orlando Magic following the shooting of Jacob Blake. Soon after, the NBA postponed all playoff games scheduled that night in the Orlando bubble.

When TNT’s broadcast began, Kenny realized he could not simply acknowledge the protests and then move back into basketball analysis. “I can’t just be a talking head, and we’re gonna say something about it and then talk basketball,” Smith said. “No, I can’t be part of that. I’m out.”

Smith recalled the confusion inside the studio as he removed his microphone and stepped away from the desk. “I just said I can’t be part of this. The players are not going to be here. For solidarity, I’m going to support the players and not be a talking head.”

He later added, “Sometimes not speaking is bigger than speaking.”

The reaction was immediate and far bigger than Smith expected. “I had people from China calling me within an hour,” he revealed. “People were saying, ‘I saw you walk off the set. Great job.’ It became international news because nobody had really seen anything like that before on a live sports broadcast.”

The Moment Kenny Smith Walked Away

Inside the Orlando bubble, emotions across the league had already reached a breaking point. Earlier that day, the Milwaukee Bucks refused to leave their locker room for Game 5 against the Orlando Magic following the police shooting of Jacob Blake. Within hours, the NBA postponed every playoff game scheduled that night.

Then came TNT’s broadcast.

As Ernie Johnson opened the show alongside Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, and Kenny Smith, the weight of the moment immediately took over the desk. Smith admitted he could barely process everything happening around him.

“This is tough. Right now my head is ready to explode,” he said live on air. “Like, just in the thoughts of what’s going on.”

The former Rockets guard explained that he did not even feel qualified to fully speak on what players across the league were feeling in that moment.

“I don’t even know if I am appropriate enough to say what the players are feeling and how they’re feeling,” Smith continued. “But as a Black man, as a former player, I think it’s best for me to support the players and not be here tonight.”

Then, in complete silence, Smith removed his microphone, stood up from the desk, and walked off the TNT set.

Ernie Johnson paused for a moment before respectfully responding, “I appreciate and respect Kenny’s decision.”

Back on The Pivot Podcast six years later, Smith explained why leaving the set felt more powerful than saying anything else that night.

“Sometimes not speaking is bigger than speaking,” he said.