Former Nugget Kenyon Martin Tells Story Of Time He Nearly Beat Up J.R. Smith Over Popcorn Prank

By Ryan Mayer

DENVER (CBS4) - The locker room is a place that is always ripe for playing pranks on teammates. Every team, from high school up through the pros has that one guy that everyone knows is a prankster and serves to keep things loose in the room.

However, there's always a fine line to walk when playing a prank on someone. The key is balancing the hilarity with any potential damage that is done to the person getting pranked or their property. In the case of former Nuggets teammates Kenyon Martin and J.R. Smith, one prank didn't walk that line well enough.

Martin appeared on ESPN's Highly Questionable with Dan LeBatard and Mina Kimes recently and regaled the crew with the story of the time a ball boy, prompted by J.R. Smith, filled his car with popcorn and the near-fight that ensued. While that may seem like a harmless prank, Martin was pretty mad about it and, according to him, the team had to beg him not to go to J.R.'s house and fight him.

The whole episode apparently happened back in the 2008-09 season, when Smith and Martin had already been teammates for a few years. But, Martin clearly didn't take kindly to the younger Smith pranking him. Martin went on to say that he no longer has a problem with Smith, but, lesson learned: never mess with Kenyon Martin's car. You can watch the full clip of Martin explaining the story above.