Kenny Smith launches virtual basketball camp featuring NBA and WNBA stars

Two-time NBA champion and TNT analyst Kenny Smith is launching Jet Academy, a virtual basketball camp staffed by the highest-level hoopers in the world to help boys and girls train their game while maintaining social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I was sitting at home and social distancing and quarantine, and my kids typically go to basketball camps," Smith told Jason Goff on the latest Bulls Talk Podcast. "They can't go to camps anymore, I can't do my basketball camp in North Carolina, I had 700 kids. And I just noticed it was a need in the world that was going on, and I said I'm going to create - and I created - the first virtual basketball camp for kids and adults and anybody who plays the game, virtually. And you can do it from anywhere, any time, on any device, with anyone."

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As for the instructors? Kemba Walker, Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner, Victor Oladipo, Breanna Stewart, Sue Bird and Trae Young will all lead or co-lead training sessions. Those seven players account for 35 All-Star appearances and two MVP awards.

Smith was clear that his intention isn't to replace traditional trainers, but he believes those that have achieved greatness at the highest level will have special perspective to offer.

"I was talking to Kemba, I was like, ‘OK, Kemba, so this is what we need to do in the camp' and he's like, ‘OK, what are the drills you want to do?'" Smith said on the podcast. "I said, ‘No, no, no. Trae, Kemba, I want you to do the drills that you do to get ready. I want to see how you got your jumper like that. That's what I would want to see. ‘Kemba, show me the pullback.' He said, ‘Alright, I'll show you the pullback.' I said, ‘No, but then you gotta tell us why you use it and when you use it.' That's what a trainer at times can't give you."

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The camp tips off July 20 and will feature live, daily, two-hour video sessions with instructors that campers can follow along with remotely. Campers will also be able to text questions to instructors, upload video of them training for response within 48 hours, and view sessions on-demand. Smith stressed the importance of that interaction towards developing one's game.

Listen to the rest of Smith and Goff's conversation, which touches on the litany of considerations facing the NBA as it embarks on its bubble experiment in Orlando, here or via the embedded player above.