Video: Kendrick Perkins Recalls Incident in 2004 When Paul Pierce Spit at LeBron James

By Jonathan Sherman
Updated: May 21, 2020

Former NBA star Paul Pierce has always been fairly disrespectful of Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, with former big man Kendrick Perkins recently offering his account of an incident that happened nearly two decades ago.

Perkins looked back at a moment when Pierce spit at the direction of the four-time MVP in the 2004 preseason.

“Paul is talking noise to the bench, right?” Perkins said. “He’s talking big noise to the Cavs bench, and they’re sitting over there, Bron and them, they’re all sitting over there. … Paul actually spits over there at the bench, right? The ultimate disrespect.”

Perkins also divulged what happened after the game ended.

“After the game, both teams were beating in the back,” he said. “Guys were ready to fight. We had to hold people back.”

According to Perkins, it was that moment back in 2004 that James and Pierce seemingly came to the same conclusion about one another.

“Ever since that moment,” Perkins said. “LeBron James and Paul Pierce hate each other. They don’t speak to each other. Even now, today.”

So, while James being left out of Pierce’s personal top-five-players-of-all-time list might have been a surprise to some fans, it surely did not come as a surprise to the three-time champ.

Surely, James winning a title with the Lakers would be the ultimate way for him to get the last laugh.