Watch: Shaquille O'Neal & Stephen A. Smith trade bricks in epic 1v1 3-pt shooting showdown

ESPN's Stephen A. Smith and the "NBA on TNT" crew hyped up basketball fans for a showdown between them before the Emirates NBA Cup first semifinal. After a free throw, competition between Kenny Smith and Stephen A., Shaquille O'Neal also dared the ESPN First Take host for a 3-point challenge.

After the conclusion of the free-throw showdown, Shaq offered $20,000 to Smith in a bet if he could hit the 3-point shot before Shaq. And, it would be safe to say that they might not want to remember this day in the future.

As Shaquille O'Neal and Stephen A. Smith started shooting the ball in front of the live audience, the first eight shots, combined from both, didn't even touch the rim.

Kenny Smith made it even more hilarious and dared the ESPN host to at least hit the rim and he would give his charity $10,000; Stephen A. air-balled again.

Thankfully, the ESPN host's practice with the lethal shooter paid off. He finally hit the shot, beating Shaq in the challenge and securing $20,000 for his charity.

But that was not the end of the shooting woe at the plaza outside the T-Mobile Arena. After Shaq and Smith, Ernie and NBA legend Charles Barkley also shot 3-pointers and all of them were air-ball shots.

Stephen A. Smith takes down Kenny Smith in free throw showdown

The result of the free throw showdown between Kenny Smith and Stephen A. Smith went in favor of the latter. ESPN's NBA analyst defeated the two-time NBA champion by 3-1 in a best-of-five challenge.

Kenny Smith had vowed to shoot free throws with his offhand. TNT's NBA analyst missed all of his first four shots at the rim and made the last one.

Stephen A. Smith, on the other hand, kept his head down and made the first shot. He missed his second shot, made the third, missed the fourth shot and made the fifth.

Ernie Johnson awarded the NBA analyst with a cup for the win. "First Take" host Molly Qerim was not in attendance. Qerim had told Smith during an episode of their show that she would be present among the audience to watch him compete. However, Smith had hilariously begged her not to come because she would jinx his chance in the contest.

The Milwaukee Bucks faced the Atlanta Hawks in the first semifinal of the NBA Cup. The winner will face the winner of the OKC Thunder vs Houston Rockets in the NBA Cup championship game.