Longtime NBA center-turned-ESPN talking head Kendrick Perkins has chosen violence ( figuratively speaking).
Perkins called out two other retired players-turned-analysts, Charles Barkley and Perkins’ own former Boston Celtics teammate Shaquille O’Neal, for how much (or little) they actually watch NBA games.
During a guest appearance Monday on The Michael Kay Show, via WEPN-FM 98.7 ESPN New York, Perkins outlined his thesis. A question about Barkley and O’Neal’s dismissive attitude towards the 50-32 New York Knicks’ chances this postseason set him off (around the 5:30 mark).
“It’s obvious that they don’t watch basketball,” Perkins said. “I’m serious, they can’t watch basketball on a consistent basis. The only time they actually probably watch the Knicks [is] when they’re covering the Knicks on their game nights. So If you’re watching the Knicks, there’s no way in hell you can downplay the way they’ve been playing the game of basketball.”
“If you don’t watch the Knicks on a consistent basis, then you don’t know,” Perkins added of the TNT broadcasters.
Arturo Holmes/Getty Images
Given that he’s known for out-there takes, it was perhaps not surprising to see Perkins come after two on-court and off-court legends.
The Knicks played 25 nationally televised games during the 2023-24 regular season, but just seven of those 25 were on TNT. Fewer still were on Thursdays in the regular season, Barkley’s primary studio day on the network. With the Knicks set to start a 2-7 playoff series against the team that drafted Barkley, the Philadelphia 76ers, both former All-Stars will get an up-close-and-personal view of the Knicks and star Jalen Brunson’s ability for themselves.
Still, his 2010-11 Boston colleague, O’Neal, responded to Perkins’ claims, questioning whether Perkins’ CV disqualified him from critiquing the Big Diesel:
can a non hall of famer speak on two hall of famers just asking
— SHAQ (@SHAQ) April 16, 2024
Shaq & Chuck respond to Kendrick Perkins who said their Knicks takes show “they obviously don’t watch basketball”:
TNT shows Perk getting dunked on
Shaq:”We don’t watch Knicks games…but I watched that game”
Chuck:”…out here killing roaches…5 points a game gone call me out?” pic.twitter.com/5PNWHS5VS2
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) April 17, 2024
Later, during a subsequent TNT broadcast, both Barkley and O’Neal weighed in again, as captured by New York Basketball on X.
“We don’t watch the Knicks games, Chuck, but I watched that game,” O’Neal chuckled.
The duo were paying tribute to six-time All-Star power forward Blake Griffin, who had announced his retirement after a full season of not being able to land with an NBA franchise. That tribute included a signature Griffin dunk highlight … over Perkins.
“I ain’t going to even give no love to a guy who averaged five points per game [it was 5.4],” Barkley joined in. “Five points a game gon’ call me out?”
Barkley and O’Neal are two of the best 30 or so players in the history of the NBA. Perkins enjoyed a respectable 14-year pro career after being drafted with the No. 27 overall pick out of Clifton J. Ozen High School in Beaumont, Texas. He was not at their level as a player, and hasn’t had as much time to establish himself as a broadcaster since retiring.
That doesn’t mean Perkins’ voice doesn’t deserve to be heard. Whether he can credibly attest to how often Barkley and O’Neal watch the New York Knicks, however, remains something of a mystery.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.