Charles Barkley roasts Kenny Smith as Inside the NBA host eyed for new basketball job

When Kenny Smith has a rough week, there’s one thing he can always count on — a little sympathy from Charles Barkley.

The close friends and long-time Inside the NBA colleagues never miss a chance to go after one another.

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Last week, North Carolina gave ‘Chuck’ the perfect ammunition by crashing out of the NCAA Tournament in a shock first-round defeat to VCU.

Smith, who starred for the Tar Heels alongside the great Michael Jordan during his own college career, apparently couldn’t bare to watch their March Madness dream crumble in 2026.

He was suspiciously absent from CBS and TNT Sports coverage after storming out the studio as his alma mater fell 82-78 to the Rams on Thursday.

It later transpired that ‘The Jet’ was feeling under the weather, but that didn’t stop Barkley from teasing him live on air a day later.

“Keep your shirt on at the beach, Kenny,” he joked.

Kenny Smith touted for UNC coaching role

In the days that have followed North Carolina’s March Madness heartbreak, coach Hubert Davis’ future has been called into question.

Conversations are nothing new, and were loud last summer, after UNC barely scraped into the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

Despite a solid 24-9 record in 2025-26, the Tar Heels season ended in disappointment once more, with a historic 19-point collapse against VCU.

Naturally, debates over the future of the program have been reignited, and Smith finds himself in the frame.

The two-time NBA champion has been touted swap the studio for the sideline, and help restore UNC to former glory.

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ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith made his case during Monday’s episode of First Take.

“Me and Kenny Smith go back a long, long way,” Smith said.

“I believe that Kenny ‘The Jet’ Smith, you put him in North Carolina, the eyes of the basketball world would be on Duke-North Carolina.”

Charles Barkley teases Kenny Smith over UNC links

Barkley, though, isn’t sure his friend has the stomach for the job, and offered a hilarious response to the suggestion.

“Kenny couldn’t even make it through the weekend,” Chuck teased, during an appearance on the Dan Patrick Show.

“He got sick this weekend.”

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The Hall of Famer then turned serious as he broke down the harsh reality of coaching in college and the NBA.

“Let me tell you, there are two jobs I wouldn’t want right now,” Barkley explained.

“With these players — and I’m not bashing the players — because we’ve got two different things going on here.

“In college, you’ve got to pay all these guys every year, and if they don’t produce (as a coach), you’re going to be the one who is going to get the blame.

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“In the NBA, you can’t even coach these guys, they’re making so much money. If they don’t like you, you’ll be gone.

“The players have so much power now, it’s crazy.”

Barkley, clearly, believes coaching in both college and NBA is more trouble than its worth, and that Smith would be crazy to give up his comfortable broadcast role, and reported seven-figure salary, to return to UNC.

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