Hello there. I'm Glenn Weldon. This is NPR's book of the day. Kenny Smith is a longtime analyst or

commentator on TNT's inside basketball, and he knows whereof he commentates. He spent 10 years in the

NBA himself and helped drive the Houston Rockets to two successive championships. As a college student,

he played alongside Michael Jordan. In his new

memoir, Talk of Champions, Stories of the People Who Made Me, he writes about those experiences,

but also the life lessons he drew from his coaches and his parents and his fellow players.

Here he is talking to Scott Tong on NPR's Here and Now.

In the U.S., national security news can feel far away from daily life.

Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors.

On our new show, Sources and Methods.

NPR reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people,

helping you understand why distant events matter here at home.

Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.

The tone of how Americans watch sports like the NBA is often set by the studio commentators,

you know, the banter, the jokes, the serious moments.

Well, Kitty Smith is at the center of this.

He's a longtime NBA analyst on TNT, alongside Charles Barkley, Shaquille O'Neal. On the court,

he played alongside Michael Jordan in college. And in the NBA, he went back-to-back championships

with the Houston Rockets in the 90s. Well, Kenny Smith, also known as the Jet, has a new memoir, and it's not just about basketball, but also sports, social justice, consoling a child-facing heartbreak. The book is Talk of Champions, and I spoke to Kenny Smith about it last week. You know, when I watch you on TV, you have a lot of fun on Inside the NBA.

We have a little bit of sound of the night, Shaquille O'Neal, booby-trap your chair,

so you couldn't hop up to sprint to the big screen as you normally do.

Here it is.

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