Kendrick Perkins has burned bridges with many of his former NBA teammates since he became a media member. When speaking about his lost friendships on the Out The Mud Podcast, Perkins revealed that even LeBron James has gotten mad at him over comments he made about his son, Bronny James.
“I lost some friends,” Perkins said. “… [Russell Westbrook], [Kevin Durant], Bron I lost. I had to speak on the s***, though. And it be hard situations, bro. Like we talked about the McDonald’s game, and Bron got mad at me because we was talking about Bronny, about the draft. I really didn’t want to touch on it because I’m like, bro, first of all, we shouldn’t be talking about the 55th pick.
“I get it, it’s his son, but then we get to diving into it, and then next thing you know, sometimes you get that microphone in front of you on there,” Perkins continued. “It’s like now I got to go all the way there. It’s like, look, man, we know what it is. It been that way. Bronny wasn’t supposed to be a McDonald’s All-American. I say this, but it’s real.
“Because in the history of it, we don’t know too many people that average 14 points, that’s Mickey D’s All-American,” Perkins added. “I don’t even believe he made all-state in California. I’m not trying to s*** on him. I’m keeping it real.”
Bronny was named a McDonald’s All-American as a senior in high school in 2023. He was part of Team West and recorded 15 points (5-10 FG), one rebound, four assists, and two steals. Fans were impressed by his showing, but Team East would come away with a 109-106 win.
LeBron was in attendance for the game and was hyped to see Bronny knock down the first of his five three-pointers on the night. He, of course, had played in the 2003 McDonald’s All-American Game, and it would have meant a lot to see his son play in it 20 years later.
Perkins, who played alongside LeBron on the Cleveland Cavaliers, doesn’t think Bronny should have been playing in that game, though. He had averaged 14.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game as a senior for Sierra Canyon, and that shouldn’t have been good enough to get the honor in the 40-year-old’s opinion.
Perkins believes Wesley Yates III from his hometown of Beaumont, Texas, would have been more deserving, and he revealed that he was criticized for not bringing it up at the time.
“I got a little kid that was in Bronny class that was ranked above Bronny from my hometown in Beaumont named Wesley Yates,” Perkins stated. “He was averaging 30. As soon as they got a month away from [getting] nominated, Bronny jumped him. But this man averaging 30. He been ranked above him this entire time. I got my whole town mad at me, ’cause I ain’t speak on that s***.”
Bronny would later commit to USC, but any hopes of him shining at the collegiate level were dashed before he even played a game. He suffered a cardiac arrest during a practice session at the Galen Center on July 24, 2023.
Bronny was rushed to a hospital, and it was soon confirmed that he was stable. A congenital heart defect was later revealed to be the cause of the cardiac arrest, and he was, fortunately, expected to make a full recovery. Bronny managed to make his USC debut less than five months after the incident on Dec. 10.
In his lone season at USC, Bronny averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.2 blocks per game. Most players with those numbers might not have gotten drafted, but the Los Angeles Lakers selected him with the 55th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. LeBron’s team drafting Bronny led to accusations of nepotism, but father and son have blocked out the outside noise, for the most part.
LeBron did famously confront Stephen A. Smith over comments he made about Bronny that he felt crossed the line. Perkins, who played in the NBA for 14 seasons, didn’t get this treatment at least.
