Stephen A. Smith Forced to Play 'Who He Play For', Unable to Tell You Who He Play For

Who among us will ever forget where we were when the NBA played the semifinals of its first-ever In-Season Tournament in Las Vegas? It was a seminal moment in human history, important enough to spark an Inside the NBA-NBA Countdown as personalities from the two shows played a home-and-home over the course of eight hours. As expected, when you put Stephen A. Smith and Charles Barkley together in a jar and shake 'em all up, they get pretty lively. In fact, it didn't take long until the Round Mound of CNN primetime threatened to kick the First Take host's ass.

After sitting through two games, the group still had enough energy to play America's fastest-growing parlor game, Who He Play For — which is a staple of Inside the NBA and a crucial reason it was recently recognized by a prestigious sports blog for excellence. And if you think for one second Smith might be any better at it than his colleagues, think again, because we all know that it's impossible for people who are on the most prominent shows covering the league to know much about the rosters. After all, there are up to 15 players on some teams!

We're actually more impressed that Smith got one correct given that no one in the modern world is forced to use more bandwith day to day. Smith has to know about literally everything and be prepared to fire off a five-minute answer about anything that's every happened or will ever happen in human history. Pretty tough to have an encyclopedic knowledge of the Charlotte Hornet's 13th and 14th options considering all that.

Now, to be clear, it's a great joke and the brilliance comes because everyone failing the test has more than enough charisma to be endearing. Excellent television through and through.