There was a time when Kendrick Perkins was known for what he did on the court, rather than his outlandish takes on TV we see today.
Those days are long gone, but they did exist.
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In fact, not only did Perkins play an integral role in helping the Boston Celtics defeat the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2008 Finals, but he was also an important member of the last Oklahoma City Thunder team to make it out of the Western Conference.
Perkins was the starting center on the 2012 OKC squad, comprised of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden that reached the Finals but lost to LeBron James and the Miami Heat in five games.
The Thunder have not been back since.
13 years later, they are now just two wins away from going back, led by newly-crowned MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
And while Perkins never won a championship with the Thunder, he has been singing their praises on television throughout the season.
And that is where Big Perk can be found most days.
He works for ESPN as a voice in their basketball coverage, on various programs.
Perkins routinely debates Stephen A. Smith on First Take and isn’t afraid to get in the mud and make bold (sometimes outrageous) claims.
For example, Perk claimed he was the real leader on that Thunder team that reached the Finals.
Not Durant, not Westbrook, but Perkins himself.
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Durant wasn’t having any of that, taking to X and calling out his former teammate.
“I know this may be a reach but this comment is by far the craziest (expletive) I’ve seen this week,” Durant wrote.
More recently, Perkins went on Richard Jefferson and Channing Frye’s “Road Trippin’ Show,” where the big man claimed he shut down All-NBA players Dirk Nowitzki, Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol, Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, and Manu Ginobili during their run to the Finals in 2012.
Durant, again, wasn’t having any of that, sarcastically reposting the clip, and writing, “The actual real mvp.”
It’s no secret that he and Perkins don’t get along.
And that may be for good reason, as Perk seems to have an awful lot of revisionist history.
Gilbert Arenas called out the ESPN analyst for being a liability on the court when he was out there, for Perkins to quickly respond and offer up a history lesson.
“Let me give you some facts when it comes to throwing out that word of ‘liability,'” Perkins said.
“The Oklahoma City Thunder never went to the NBA Finals until Kendrick Perkins arrived on that team because they couldn’t get past the Lakers, who had the twin towers in Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol.”
While that is a fact, Perkins wasn’t exactly the reason that 2012 OKC team reached the Finals.
That would be because of Durant and Westbrook.
And Harden.
Nevertheless, Perkins can’t be too mad about how things turned out for him, as he reportedly has a comfortable net worth of $28 million.
And one of the sport’s biggest platforms on ESPN to talk about whatever comes to mind.
Whether that’s embellishing the truth a little or not.
