The Oklahoma City Thunder had a pretty amazing team in the early 2010s. They drafted Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden in quick succession, and the team was in the NBA Finals in 2012. They had some elite role players during this time as well, Serge Ibaka was a young beast, and Kendrick Perkins was a big man with championship-winning experience.
There has been beef between the players from that team after they failed to win a title, and eventually, all moved on. But Serge Ibaka is generally well-liked and respected by all. He enjoys friendly banter as much as anyone else, as evidenced by some of his interactions with teammates and former teammates on his show, ‘How Hungry Are You?’ But he isn’t one to be disrespected, as his former teammate Kendrick Perkins is just finding out. It isn’t even the first time Big Perk has been called out.
https://twitter.com/ActionNetworkHQ/status/1607402323084730370
Perkins commented on Ibaka lying about his age when talking about the OKC Thunder’s young team from the 2010s, and Ibaka destroyed him on Twitter in response.
Serge Ibaka Accused Kendrick Perkins Of Spreading Misinformation For Views And Ratings
There is a stereotype about African athletes that people sometimes parrot about them, lying about their ages. It’s mostly unfounded and deeply offensive, so when Perkins said it about Ibaka in passing, the big man was quick to hit back in a long Twitter thread.
You can talk about my game If I don’t play well, I will never have a problem with that. But to talk extra for no reason is really not acceptable. It is disrespectful to me and I feel like it is disrespectful to many Africans who have to live with that unfounded accusation.
— Serge Ibaka (@sergeibaka) December 26, 2022
“Hey @KendrickPerkins, I count my blessings every day and I don’t usually react to comments about me. But It’s disappointing to hear someone I shared a locker room with spreading misinformation to be relevant and get views on TV and social media.
“You can talk about my game If I don’t play well, I will never have a problem with that. But to talk extra for no reason is really not acceptable. It is disrespectful to me and I feel like it is disrespectful to many Africans who have to live with that unfounded accusation.
“If I was 30 in OKC I guess I am 45 now? The truth is I never lied about my age and I work extremely hard everyday without cheating and I have never been suspended. Everyone in the league knows that. You cheated and didn’t respect the game.
“Although I am disappointed I am not surprised to see these actions from someone who got his job by breaking the locker room code and by spreading lies about two of his former teammates and brothers like KD and Russ.
“When KD had a bad game you criticized him behind his back, and when Russ had a bad game then you criticized him. You were not a locker room leader, and then you continued doing the same in the media.
“I understand everyone needs to do their job and take care of their families, but you are proof not everybody knows how to do it with class and dignity. I have more to say about you but I am not that kind of person, but this time you went too far.”
Serge Ibaka being a genial character and a generally fun person makes this a lot more intense coming from him. He is seemingly deeply hurt by what Kendrick Perkins had to say, and it’s easy to see where it’s coming from. He went at Perkins hard, especially with the shots about his lack of dignity, and this is sure to ignite some beef in the coming days.
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