Griner participating in a virtual camp

Not even these three NBA All-Stars did that.

In prepping for Kenny Smith’s JET ACADEMY virtual basketball camp for kids, Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner was jumping high and throwing it down hard.

“Me and my nephew were talking, and I was like, you know what, we did all of these drills,” Kenny Smith said. “We have Victor Oladipo, NBA All-Star right. We have Trae Young, NBA All-Star. We have Kemba Walker, four-time NBA AllStar. And none of them dunked. She’s the only one that dunks in the drills.”

Smith, the camp creator – and 1990 NBA Slam Dunk Contest runner-up to two-time champion Dominique Wilkins – isn't trying to match the 6-2 Griner’s jams, either.

“So in every drill she was doing, instead of laying the ball in, she was dunking, and I was laughing,” the two-time NBA champion said about the six-time WNBA All-Star. "When we were doing the rehearsals, she was dunking every drill. I’m like, ‘you know I can’t do that.’ The only dunks that you’re going to see are going to be from her.”

Griner will be dunking and more as she and Seattle Storm’s Breanna Stewart are set to have their live camp from 9-11 a.m. this upcoming Monday through Friday.

“I think it’s amazing, honestly,” Griner said. “When I first heard about JET ACADEMY, I was like, 'oh yea, I definitely want to be on board with that.' It’s still being active. Still getting sports in. Still making an impact, making a difference. It’s amazing.”

Walker and Oladipo had their camps last month while Young’s is set for Aug. 10-14.

“With the pandemic and social distancing, all of the live camps that we have been doing were cancelled,” Smith said. “So I was just like, why should everyone’s development stop because of the pandemic. So I created the first virtual sports academy.”

For more information, jetacademycamp.com.

“I think it’s amazing how they put it together and I think it’s going to be more things like that will start to pop up,” Griner said.

Griner sees this camp an adjustment to what’s now the new normal.

“With the world we’re in now with visit the pandemic and everything and COVID-19, being visibly there isn’t always going to be an option,” Griner said. “But we’re in a world now with technology. Zoom calls like this. Calls. Meetings. Media. You can still get everything done. You just have to change how it look a little bit. Sometimes you just got to adjust. The world is crazy. We can adapt. We have everything. We’re very smart.”

This virtual camp has turned out even better than Smith expected.

“I thought I had something there, but now I know I have something sustainable,” said Smith, who acknowledged sponsors AMEX, American Express and BodyArmor.

“In one week, we signed up over 3,500 kids. One week. I was randomly during Kemba’s camp just grabbing kids and putting them online. First kid is from Austin, Texas. Second kid is from Florida. Next kid was from El Salvador. Another kid was from Taiwan. I was like, this is a worldwide thing you couldn’t do at a live camp. We’re just having a lot of fun. A lot of fun.”

The camp costs $89 per month, $49 for a six-month membership ($294) and $29 per month for a yearly membership ($349). Smith plans to have more NBA and WNBA players participate.

“If 3,500 kids and counting that are working on their game every day, why aren’t you?” Smith asks.

The virtual camp teaches techniques for shooting, ball-handling and rebounding and has live Q&As with the players. The campers can access the live virtual camp on any device, can replay the sessions and submit videos of their drills Smith will watch and critique.

“The quality is unbelievable,” Smith said. “It’s not like a FaceTime or anything like that. The quality is like super clear. We have four cameras in the gym where the person is playing.”

A huge part of the camp experience is the players are informing the virtual campers about life in the bubble. The 22 chosen NBA teams are at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida while the WNBA is at IMG Academy in Bradenton.

“(Walker) is telling us what’s going on in the bubble as he demonstrates,” Smith said. “The kids get a live experience. They get to ask questions live. Upload videos live. It’s just a great interaction. You can really go behind the scenes and see what all the players do.”