In Tales from the Press, we explore the careers of sports legends through the lens of the journalists who covered them. As a television personality, Kenny "The Jet" Smith is best known today as an award-winning NBA analyst for TNT, where he brilliantly plays both straight man and instigator who can ignite the comedic fires in Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal on "Inside the NBA."

As an NBA player, Smith was drafted sixth overall by the Sacramento Kings in 1987 in hopes that he would become a star player. Two trades later, he was on the Houston Rockets, who hoped he'd be the point guard who could best help superstar center Hakeem Olajuwon win the franchise's first NBA Championship.

In six seasons with the Rockets, Smith went from embraced addition to overpaid disappointment. Eventually, he was a key contributor to the franchise's only titles.

In this installment, BET talked to former Rockets beat writer from the defunct Houston Post and author of DreamLand: The Inside Story of the 93-94 Houston Rockets Championship Season Robert Falkoff about Kenny Smith's time with the Rockets.

By 1990, Olajuwon had been named first-team All-NBA three times and second team twice. He was well on his way to all-time great status, but the Rockets had been eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for three consecutive seasons. They needed help in the backcourt and traded John Lucas and Tim McCormick to the Atlanta Hawks for Smith and Roy Marble.

Robert Falkoff: That ended a string of really several years when they had subpar point guard play. [Which] really frustrated Hakeem Olajuwon. The point guard play really had been bad since John Lucas in the mid 80s.

They went through a string of people trying to fill the position and nobody really filled the bill. It was really hard on Olajuwon. He felt like for him to maximize what he could be he needed a point guard that could penetrate and dish.

[Kenny] did give them a legitimate starting point guard and they kind of went from there. He was fast with the ball. He could penetrate. His physicality really wasn't what some of the elite point guards could bring because his body shape was thin, but he had the speed to penetrate and dish and he could make shots to ease some of the pressure of teams collapsing inside. He showed why he was a top pick.

The 1990-91 Rockets tallied a 52-30 record – the best in franchise history even though they had played in two NBA Finals during the 1980s. Smith had a career-best season, averaging 17.7 points per game and 7.1 assists on 52/36.3/84.4 shooting splits.

Smith inked a five-year extension in the summer of 1991. Scottie Pippen – Michael Jordan's famous sidekick on the NBA Champion Chicago Bulls – signed a five-year extension the same summer – during their series against the Los Angeles Lakers. Pippen received less than $2.9 million per year. Smith got $1.9 million.

Smith's stats dipped slightly during the 1991-92 season, but more importantly the Rockets missed the playoffs for the first time since 1984-85. Prior to the start of the 1992-93 season a Houston Chronicle columnist put a lion share of the blame on Smith for the Rockets' head coach Don Chaney getting fired, and also wrote that the recently handsomely compensated guard was the "biggest question mark" for the newly hired Rudy Tomjanovich. Smith became a scapegoat for any of the team's struggles. Also, his playing time took a hit.

RF: He became a lightning rod for criticism. Some people questioned his toughness, whether he was really fit to be a championship type of point guard. Would he hold up defensively? I wouldn't say he was a great defensive player but he held his own.

He didn't have a lot of meat on his bones so physicality was going to be a problem for him. Also the tough drives, so some people thought he was a little soft. I was on the other side of that. I kind of always took up for him. Was he a perfect player, certainly not but he could give [the Rockets] what [they] needed to put all of the pieces together. They had other tough guys. What they needed from him was to make the outside shot and he could do that.

The Rockets got – head coach of the Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook led Oklahoma City Thunder – Scotty Brooks as his backup and the team really took off during the 92-93 season [best record in franchise history up to that point with 55 regular-season wins.] He didn't have Kenny's athletic ability. Scotty was just a tough, gritty, tenacious guy. A lot of times that year, he was the guy Tomjanovich would go to in the fourth quarter instead of Kenny.

The Seattle SuperSonics beat the Rockets by three points in Game 7 of their second-round series in the 1993 playoffs. Houston selected point guard Sam Cassell in the first round of the 1993 NBA Draft and went on to set another franchise record with 58 regular-season wins.

RF: As the season went on, Sam got more and more comfortable. There was a crossroads and I'll tell you exactly when.

It was January of 94. Kenny was the starter, and I look back at some of this today, he felt like he was getting a quick hook – being pulled from games too early. He couldn't get in a rhythm. If he didn't start well, Rudy would pull him out of the game. We had a conversation about it. He didn't want to rock the boat.

Then after we talked a few days later, I remember this because [the Rockets] still traveled commercial. Kenny is not doing too well. He's being pulled and [the Rockets] are going more towards Cassell. He talked to me about it off the record. He didn't want to rock the boat.

He said, "I think I'm getting too quick of a hook. I'm a rhythm guy. "If I'm two for seven I'm the kind of guy I can hit my next three shots and be five for 10."

One day, after a road game, I'm getting off the plane and Kenny's waiting for me and he's out in the concourse. We started talking and he decides, "Look I want to go on the record. I just feel like it's time." He basically repeats what I just said.

We do an article and I say, "I'm gonna call Rudy and tell him that you made these comments, it's the day before a game." He said "fine." I go home and I tell Rudy that I'm gonna run this story saying that Kenny doesn't feel like he's getting a fair shake on playing time.

The next day Kenny gets more time because [in the game] he scored 19 points and had 15 in the second half. Rudy said after the game, "I'm happy for him. He put himself out there and he answered."

In June 1994, the Rockets were in the NBA Finals against the New York Knicks. They went down 3-2 – that Game 5 loss was on the infamous night of the O.J. Simpson white Bronco chase that captivated America. Smith shot 53.8 percent from the field in the final two games and played the majority of the minutes at point guard.

RF: Derek Harper was a very physical point guard for the Knicks. He was locking Kenny up. He was dominating Kenny for four games, maybe five. Harper made the comment that he didn't think Kenny liked ball pressure or things to that nature.

[Kenny] again is getting a lot of heat just like he had during the regular season and back in those January tough days. Then Kenny again, back to the wall, made some big shots. Game 6 they win. They go to Game 7. He made some big shots [and] kind of redeemed himself in those last two games. They won both and won the championship.

After the game, we're in the locker room. He was the only one in there. I don't know where everybody was. I remember him sitting there by his locker and saying, "It feels 20 times better than I ever thought it could be."

The Rockets won the championship again the next season. In Game 1 against Shaquille O'Neal's Orlando Magic, Smith set what was then an NBA record with seven made 3-pointers in a finals game. That's not bad for someone who was accused of being a disappointment who deserved fault for a coach getting fired.

Smith's clutch playoff performances and dual championship rings helped cement his basketball legacy, providing the credibility that would later make him one of the most respected voices in basketball broadcasting at TNT, where he continues to entertain fans alongside his more outspoken colleagues.