ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins arguably drew a comparison between himself and Jesus in his response on X (formerly Twitter) to the news that Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James unfollowed him on the social media platform.
“Everybody didn’t follow Jesus, I’ll be ok” https://t.co/5tAKKNuGnC
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) June 8, 2024
James unfollowed Perkins after the latter called out the 39-year-old for his comments on Kyrie Irving ahead of Game 1 of the 2024 NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks.
Kendrick Perkins calls out LeBron James for trying to make Kyrie Irving's moment about himself
“Here we go again, Bron weaseling his way into somebody else’s moment…This is not about you! Your team is at home. This is about the Mavs and the Celtics, but yet you’re so mad and… pic.twitter.com/glBpoBqLSw
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) June 6, 2024
The forward said that he wishes Irving was still his teammate. James and Irving played together on the Cleveland Cavaliers and led the team to its first title in franchise history in 2016.
“I'm so f*cking mad that I am not his running mate anymore… He's the most gifted player the NBA has ever seen.”
– LeBron James on Kyrie Irving
(Via @mindthegamepod / h/t @ClutchPoints )
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) June 4, 2024
During his time at ESPN, Perkins hasn’t been afraid to voice his opinion regarding one of the greatest players ever to play the game of basketball. Back in March, he said that James wouldn’t win a title if he were to join forces with Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, who’s the NBA’s all-time leader in 3-pointers made by a healthy margin.
.@KendrickPerkins doesn't believe Steph and LeBron would win a title together 😯 pic.twitter.com/MWDqeBrKf2
— First Take (@FirstTake) March 1, 2024
While Perkins wasn’t exactly a great offensive player at the NBA level, he carved out a long and impressive career in the pros thanks to his knack for doing the dirty work out on the floor.
Across 14 seasons in the NBA, the former Celtics big man averaged 5.4 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per contest. Arguably his most impressive season came in his final full season in Boston, the 2009-10 campaign, when he averaged 10.1 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game in 78 games played during the regular season.
Later on in his NBA career, Perkins played alongside James on the Cavaliers. He logged 18 regular-season appearances with Cleveland across two separate stints in the 2014-15 and 2017-18 seasons.
The Cavaliers reached the NBA Finals in 2015 and 2018 but lost to the Warriors in the championship series on both occasions.
James’ decision to unfollow Perkins on X and Perkins’ response to being unfollowed implies that there isn’t much love lost between the former teammates. NBA fans should look out for if and when there will be another chapter in this saga.
