Kendrick Perkins might have shared the ultimate hot take about Nikola Jokic. It was so bad that he had to clarify that he was joking on X later.
Nikola Jokic has proven himself an offensive juggernaut and is already considered one of the greatest centers ever. His playmaking ability in the post has shifted how the NBA looks at big men.
The Denver Nuggets superstar is a three-time MVP and a Finals MVP. Approaching Game 7 in the Western Conference Semifinals, Jokic has earned comparisons to LeBron James during these playoffs.
The Joker has the respect of his peers, too. Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler named him the toughest player to guard in the Western Conference.
All of this only points to one thing: the Serbian superstar is one of the league’s most unstoppable forces. However, there are some who think of stopping him as a joke.
Photo by Ronald Cortes/Getty ImagesKendrick Perkins claimed Nikola Jokic wouldn’t have wanted to face him
One of the more valid criticisms about the NBA media is that they can tend to have some wildly hot takes. Kendrick Perkins is no stranger to these.
Malika Andrews started a discussion on ESPN about Jokic’s elite Game 7 stats by telling Perkins that he wouldn’t have wanted to face the Joker in such a matchup.
Much to her disbelief and that of fellow panelist Bob Myers, Big Perk disagreed.
“Jokic wouldn’t have wanted this smoke,” he claimed. “Kobe said I was the best post defender in the league. Kobe Bryant, yeah…”
Myers responded by saying, “What?” while Andrews seemed resigned, laughing as she simply said, “Okay.”
Kendrick Perkins backtracked and said he was joking after the clip went viral
Perkins played in the NBA for over 15 years, mostly on good teams. A championship with the Boston Celtics was followed up by NBA Finals runs with the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
He was a really good defender, there’s no doubt about that. However, even he knows that he couldn’t have stopped the Joker. He walked back his claim on social media hours after he initially made it.
“Jesus Christ. I was joking around with Bob and Malika people,” Perkins wrote in a post on X.
The entire episode was completely avoidable, but at least Big Perk saw the sense in clarifying his stance. If he hadn’t, this was shaping up to be one of the worst sports media takes of all time.