The recent altercations in the NBA have given room for pundits to give their two cents on who the tough players are in the league, and Kendrick Perkins took the opportunity to say his piece. What birthed this conversation was the squabble between reigning MVP Nikola Jokic and Markieff Morris.
On First Take with Stephen A Smith, Perkins did some name-dropping after commenting on the Morris-Jokic beef.
“They have certain guys in NBA… That ain’t gonna bust a grape in a fruit fight, and ain’t gonna pour milk on cereal… The Morris twins is not one of those guys, and Jokic is not one of those guys.”
Perkins has named his top five toughest active NBA players, and to no surprise, Jokic is not on the list. He named veteran Udonis Haslem, James Johnson, Patrick Beverley, Montrezl Harrell, and P.J. Tucker.
Kendrick Perkins’ toughest players in the NBA
(h/t @_Talkin_NBA ) pic.twitter.com/KNxtQ4SAU6
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) November 12, 2021
Fans have come for Perkins, as they are dumbfounded that Jokic did not make the cut. A fan, @OVOGoonLife had this to say in the comments section:
“Jokic literally grew up in a war zone and survived multiple NATO bombings but he’s not tough? Lol ok.”
Comments continued to pour in as fans gave reasons as to why certain players should not have made the list.
Jokic lucky UD wasn’t on the court
— Josh (@305Heatnationn) November 12, 2021
Jokic literally grew up in a war zone and survived multiple NATO bombings but he’s not tough? Lol ok
— AB (@WayToo6ixy) November 12, 2021
https://twitter.com/cbrad420/status/1459415403134955522
James Johnson would mop the floor with all of them.
— . (@Ybnlj2) November 13, 2021
I don't even understand the criteria here. It clearly has nothing to do with playing basketball.
— 🎬Days of Dreams 😴 Nights of SIN-ema🎬 (@vixticator) November 13, 2021
https://twitter.com/PauljasonD/status/1459291157922402304https://twitter.com/daddydoncic/status/1459274333831016452
U forgot to add jokic. He had a triple double and KO’D a guy in one game. See if the NBA captures that stat.
— Leroy Gonzales (@sparta024) November 12, 2021
I would agree with UD, Johnson and PJ but Steven Adams for Pat Bev seems and obvious choice. I have no opinion on Trz
— CornerCarver (@V4Carver) November 13, 2021
Steven Adams and Jokic rn: pic.twitter.com/k0bQexmPD0
— . (@HellenicPat) November 13, 2021
Just cause Montrezl yells every time he does the simplest dunk doesn’t make him tough lolll
— Average celebrity (@brownsatoshii) November 12, 2021
Suffice to say that fans are only interested in watching these superstars hoop and not get down and dirty. While it has sparked conversations on social media, we hopefully will not see any of the players in the NBA jeopardize their career by laying hands.
