The process by which the studio is prepped for the segment is actually quite herculean. “As soon as Chuck saw the boat, he said, `That looks like the boat Clarence Thomas was taking trips on.’ People on social started eating that up,” said Houvouras.ĮJ, Charles, Kenny & Shaq send the Pelicans, Bulls, Thunder, Raptors and Mavericks into the offseason after the Play-In Tournament. That’s why the “Inside” cast is now aboard a billion-dollar yacht roughly the size of Switzerland (not to scale, of course). Helped by a massive green screen similar to those used by local TV stations to display weather maps, the segment is now vivid and 3D-ish. The first Gone Fishin’ was in 2003, a doctored photo of Smith and Bucks coach George Karl holding fish (the Bucks lost in the first round to the Nets).īut the advancement of technology, gadgetry and visual hocus-pocus has changed everything. The producers originally slapped together headshots and that was it. “Kenny’s the straw that stirs the drink and he has entrusted us to give our little spin on it,” Fiorello said. It’s the last segment of the show each spring, as part of EJ’s Neat-O Stat Of The Night (unsullied by sponsors since 1989), and filled with photoshopped gags both obvious and subtle. Well: That registered with the producers, and thus created Gone Fishin’ to salute the exit of every playoff team ever since. And then Gone Fishin’ became a signature segment once Smith brought the memory to the TNT show where he became a regular after retirement.Īs the show was about to sign off for the season, Smith told Johnson: “I guess we’re about to be gone fishin’.” The Rockets then advanced to the NBA Finals and swept Shaq and the Magic. Well, Smith’s outburst had three positive effects: It riled up the Rockets, who rallied and beat Barkley and the Suns in the series Game 7 became the famous Mario Elie “Kiss of Death” game when the Houston guard blew a kiss toward the Phoenix bench after hitting a big corner 3-pointer with seven seconds left. He screamed in the huddle: “We ain’t gone fishin’ y’all! We ain’t gone fishin’!” It caught the attention of the crowd, which erupted, and Smith, who also erupted. Then the last board unveiled the name of the Rockets, who were still alive, but barely. He held a fishing pole and on the end of the pole were wooden boards that revealed the teams the Suns had already beaten. The Rockets fell behind Barkley and the Suns 3-1 in the 1995 Western Conference semifinals and during a Game 5 timeout in Phoenix, the Suns’ Gorilla mascot did a skit. And it’s the brainchild of Kenny Smith based on an incident during his playing days with the Rockets, which coincidently linked all four “Inside” hosts. The slickly produced Gone Fishin’ segment is engineered by art director Alex Houvouras - who creates many of the clever bits - and coordinating director Steve Fiorello. But I grew up a huge late-night talk show fan with David Letterman and Johnny Carson and I wanted to lean into that. The games are awesome, you can’t beat that. “That’s my favorite part of our shows, the entertainment value,” said coordinating producer Jeremy Levin. They’re serenaded by Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Ernie Johnson Jr., the “Inside” crew shown in the studio on a massive yacht holding fishing rods and wearing fishing hats - therefore striking the balance between hoops and hilarity that the show is famous for. It cleverly combines photoshopped heads of players, coaches and also celebrities with ties to those home cities, all thrown together on a boat designed to remove them from the playoffs and ship them to a favorite fishing hole. Of all the regular segments that make “Inside The NBA” - the best sports show on television - Gone Fishin’ is perhaps the most anticipated if not most entertaining because it only happens this time of the year. Most likely, Anderson got a chuckle out of that … like millions of viewers. Unless you’re Kyle Anderson, who recently was shown getting socked off the Timberwolves’ boat by a left jab from teammate Rudy Gobert in an animation revisitation of their recent bench confrontation. It’s all in good fun, though, and the traditional springtime skit on the late-night TNT show is more knee-slapping than face-slapping. This means not only were you just eliminated from the playoffs, but you also get lampooned while harpooning your catch. To distance themselves from the basketball grind, most will be gone beaching, gone golfing, gone shopping, gone traveling.īut the absolute last choice is Gone Fishin’, and even worse, sent there on a custom-made and digitally enhanced boat, courtesy of the “Inside The NBA” crew. ATLANTA - The most refreshing perk enjoyed by NBA players headed toward the offseason is vacation, where an exotic destination awaits.
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