In a segment on ESPN’s First Take, former NBA big man Kendrick Perkins revealed the pettiness of former Chicago Bulls star Michael Jordan. As he explained on the show, Michael once cut off his supply of free Jordans after Perkins hailed LeBron James as the NBA GOAT.
“[Michael Jordan] is petty as hell too,” said Perkins. “Now, if you go in my closet, it’s nothing but J’s. I keep J’s on my feet. I was signed to Jordan for about two years when I was playing. OK? I wore J’s throughout the course of a few years of my time in Oklahoma City. After that I used to get boxes in the mail all the time of the J’s before they even hit the stores. I started my media career. As soon as I said that LeBron James was the GOAT, those boxes stopped coming.”
While Perk never had a signature shoe deal, he did have a contract with Nike (Jordan) during his prime that allowed him to represent the brand on the court. After the contract expired, Michael used to send him complimentary boxes in the mail of the latest Jordans before they hit the market.
Suddenly, they stopped coming one day, and Perkins believes he knows the reason why. According to the former NBA big man, it has to do with his stance on the GOAT debate, which he conceded to LeBron years ago.
As the NBA’s most popular superstar legend, Michael Jordan was known for his ruthless competitive spirit that helped him win six NBA championships. From 1991 to 1998, Michael dominated the league and cemented his legacy as the greatest player ever.
By the time he retired for the final time in 2003, Michael’s resume was absolutely stacked as a 14x All-Star, 10x scoring leader, and 5x MVP. For his career, he averaged 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game on 49.7% shooting.
Michael has been retired for over 20 years now, but he hasn’t lost his competitive spirit. Jordan will disown just about anyone who dares to question his legacy, including former colleagues like Kendrick Perkins, who call LeBron James the GOAT instead.
While MJ has not made any direct statements on the debate between him and LeBron James, we already know where he stands. In Michael’s eyes, he’ll always be the best, and his sheer dominance on the court has yet to be matched.
If there’s any player who has challenged Jordan’s status, it’s LeBron James. As a 4x champion, 4x MVP, and the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, James’ feats are impressive, but not everyone agrees on how they compare to legends like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Kobe Bryant.
Regardless of your take on the GOAT debate, Michael will not stand for one of his own trying to diminish his legacy. He’s only going to look after those who stay loyal to his brand and hold firm in his place at the top of the hierarchy.
Somehow, Michael never lost his competitive edge, and his desire to be the best continues to rage on today. In many ways, Michael is as petty as they come, and we’ve seen many examples of the lengths he’ll go to protect his legacy.
Kendrick Perkins Blocked LeBron James’ Number
Unfortunately for Perkins, his declaration of LeBron as the GOAT has not earned him any favorability with the NBA superstar. In fact, Perkins admitted to blocking James on his phone after LeBron unfollowed him on social media.
“LeBron James needs to stop. He needs to stop,” said Perkins on First Take. “I’m so sick of him with this ‘Oh, how the league is covered’ because he wanted to be covered a certain way… LeBron unfollowed, so you know what I did? blocked him from my phone.”
LeBron recently went off on the NBA media for not having a proper understanding of the game. He ripped ex-players like Charles Barkley and Kendrick Perkins for their constant negativity and their surface-level coverage of the game.
So if there’s one thing that LeBron James and Michael Jordan have in common, it’s that they are both on bad terms with Kendrick Perkins. The big man turned analyst has made a lot of enemies since becoming a major face of television.
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