As me and Jay Corbin were chopping it up about the events at NBA all star weekend, he suddenly stopped and looked at Brandon Smith’s kicks.

“That’s a bold move,” Corbin said.

I tried to see what Brandon had on his feet, as he usually rocks some converses or something clean with an ill/limited colorway but I couldn’t see from the sideline. The last game of the night kicked off and I peeped the pink LeBron Soldier III’s and I thought that would be the loudest statement Smith would make that night.

I was wrong.

Smith, who had only two layups in the first half, dropped 25 points and shot a LOUD-ass 6 for 7 from (well) beyond the arc. I’ve covered a lot of basketball games in my short career with top HS, college and pro players but it’s rare to see a player zone out like Brandon did. The game was close while he got NBA Jam hot, but he put it away after Raf shared some choice words with his team.

My team ain’t sh*t? How bout I pull in front of my bench and then from half-court circle, since my team ain’t sh*t?-Smith

Each shot Smith hit from deep made the gym ignite like the crowd after Kemba’s cross over/McGhee tumbling/step back game winner at MSG. If Uptempo’s not on their job defensively in the semi’s (and chirping at the mouth), Air Force 1 could end up reppin’ the Downtown Conference at the Garden behind another gaudy performance from Smith, the NRF Player of the Week.