Nightcap Hour 3: Kenny Smith Says Mark Jackson SAVED Steph Curry’s CAREER + 76ers HIRE Phil Handy

**Shannon Sharpe** (0:00)
Kenny Smith says Mark Jackson saved Steph Curry's career with the Warriors and the NBA. Steph Curry, before he got there, did not play the fourth quarter of game. They used to play Monte Ellis, and they would say Steph could not play in the fourth quarter because defensively, he could not handle that. He was going to get traded until Mark Jackson got there. He saved not only the franchise, he saved the league. You think of Steph Curry save basketball by making this dude and allowing him to be who he was. He saved basketball and changed the culture of the way we play games today based on the way Steph plays. Someone had to have a vision to allow him to have that happen. He was the vision.
I agree. I think Mark Jackson played a huge pivotal role in the Warriors having that core group with Clay, Draymond, Steph. He molded those guys, Unc, Ochocinco. It's almost like somebody going to the damn casino warming up their damn slot machine then Steve Kirkham, and he hit the jackpot. You know what I mean? Don't want four titles.
You know what I mean?

**Chad Johnson** (1:02)
Going to the Hall of Fame as a coach.

**Shannon Sharpe** (1:03)
Wow, man. I think Mark Jackson played a huge role in that dynasty and what they was able to do. I agree.
They admit it. I mean, you hear Draymond, you hear Clay, you hear Steph.
The toughness that he instilled in them. Yeah.
The teamwork, the camaraderie. Yeah. I just hate that he hadn't, you know, I'm glad Jett said this.
I just don't know why the man hadn't got a chance. I mean, you see somebody come out and speak so glowingly about it, and then for whatever reason, the NBA has turned his back on him. I don't know everything. You hear certain things. I don't know what's true and not what's true, what is true and what isn't true. I don't even feel comfortable speaking on what some of the things that people are saying, but I do know this. He's a hell of a basketball coach. He was a hell of a basketball player. He has a great mind for the game. He could speak the game. I love hear him talk. Actually, I sat down with Jack and he's just, some people just got a mind for basketball, Joe. Yeah. He won over.
He has a mind for basketball. The way he looks at the game, you can tell guys that have very, very high IQs and how they talk about the game. I had a conference, I used to sit down and talk to Isaiah a lot. I love Zeke. Hey, Zeke, you know you promised us that you're going to come on. So, you know. I know he'll come on. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Hey, hey, hey, hey, Unc, I agree with you. Mark Jackson is a hell of a coach, was a hell of a coach. I don't understand why he hadn't gotten an opportunity neither, Ocho, but when you look at it, I honestly think he's probably a better analyst than he is. He is a hell of an analyst, bro. I'm talking about the way he breaks the game down, you know, mid game, the way he talks about it. I enjoy watching him. I enjoy watching him when he's a commentator of games. He hadn't been doing, he hadn't done that in a few summer years neither. Which is kind of- Yeah, Richard Jefferson took, JJ, first of all, it was Doris Burke and Richard Jefferson. And not, no, was it? Yeah, yeah, Doris Burke and Richard Jefferson took over for him the first year. And now it's, what's the guy, legs, Tim Legler, Richard Jefferson and Mike Green. Yeah, so hopefully, even if he don't get a coaching job, which is kind of baffling, because it's like, Em, how you help put together that whole Golden State roster with Hall of Famers, and you mean to tell me, that man don't get the chance to coach nowhere else? Hell, I ain't even seen him analyzing games lately. Okay, Ocho, so it lets me know it's something deeper than, you know, what we obviously can see. Yeah, because the thing is, they have two places you can play games. They play games on Amazon and they play games on ESPN. Yeah. Oh, NBC, NBC.
And I would definitely thought NBC would give them a call, but hey, they went with the young guys. I think I hadn't, I might see a clip of Crawford, Jamal Crawford.

**Chad Johnson** (3:59)
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

**Shannon Sharpe** (4:00)
I think he do an unbelievable job. Yeah, he do, he do. He do, him and Reggie Miller.