Former NBA players turned media personalities really be saying the wildest things these days.
The first name that pops up is obviously Paul Pierce, who once claimed on ESPN he was better than Dwyane Wade. He once argued, too, that he’s a better wing shooter than Klay Thompson.
Now, Pierce has company for wildest—maybe even dumbest—take in basketball: Kendrick Perkins.
The retired big man, who played in the NBA for 16 seasons, had this to say in ESPN’s NBA Today Trade Deadline Special:
“It doesn’t mean your best player is your leader. When I was with the Thunder, it wasn’t KD, it wasn’t Russ, it wasn’t James, I was the one leading,” Perkins said during ESPN’s NBA Today Trade Deadline Special.
KD, Russ, and James in this case, are Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden—three of the greatest hoopers ever in the history of basketball, not just the NBA.
Kevin Durant Calls Cap on Perk
Durant, the most active among the three on social media, unsurprisingly clapped back at Perkins’ claim, describing it as the “craziest shit” he’s seen this week. And that’s saying a lot, as this is also the same week Luka Doncic got traded to the Los Angeles Lakers.
“I know this may be a reach but this comment is by far the craziest shit I’ve seen this week,” Durant wrote on X of Perkins’ claim.
In fairness to Big Perk, who averaged 5.4 points in 782 career games, he was already an eight-year veteran and NBA champion when he got to the Thunder in 2010. Durant, on the other hand, was just entering his fourth season; Westbrook, his third season; and Harden, his second season.
So, maybe Perkins felt as if he was the three’s bigger, older bro. Maybe he even imparted a few words of wisdom—and that’s a big maybe. What’s for certain is that Perk leading a team full of precocious budding stars seems far-fetched, especially since he was never more than a role player.
And all that leads us back to Durant’s craziest shit response. He ain’t lying.
