The OKC Thunder in the 2010s were arguably one of the most fun teams in modern NBA history. They had three future MVPs – Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Russell Westbrook on the roster, making the NBA Finals together in 2012 where they lost to LeBron James and the Miami Heat. While the trio never won a title with OKC, their short-lived era together is still remembered by fans.
One member of that era was now ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins, who claimed that he was the real leader of the OKC Thunder ahead of three future MVPs.
“It doesn’t mean your best player is your leader. When I was with the Thunder, it wasn’t KD, it wasn’t Russ, it wasn’t James, I was the one leading.”
Durant found this notion absolutely crazy, mocking it on social media.
“I know this may be a reach but this comment is by far the craziest sh*t I’ve seen this week.”
Another former Thunder player from that era, Serge Ibaka, supported Durant’s feelings after seeing this claim. It’s important to remember that Ibaka has previously said that Perkins used to badmouth Durant and Westbrook behind their backs to the rest of the locker room.
Durant and Perkins have butted heads a lot of times in recent years, especially with Perkins’ frequently commenting about their shared time on the OKC Thunder.
Durant once said that Perkins makes his living through lying, objecting to Perkins’ claims about his relationship with Westbrook. This has happened multiple times, as Perkins has previously said that their Thunder locker room wasn’t a brotherhood because of the star dynamic between Durant and Westbrook.
The relationship between these former teammates doesn’t seem to have been great when they were playing together and has only gotten worse since. It has to be tough for Durant because he’s still playing and has to regularly hear about what Perkins said about him on-air with his regular analyst job at ESPN.
We know Durant reads or hears about most things people are saying about him on the internet given how frequently he goes on rants on social media. But instead of getting political and hurting his career, Durant has built a relationship with fans who regularly tweet at him and have conversations on their timelines with the star. Even if you’re trolling Durant, he’s willing to talk about it.
Hopefully, Durant and Perkins can talk their differences out. It’ll be hard as long as Perkins is a media figure who has to consistently talk about a legendary talent like Durant still playing. There’s praise given when necessary, but the criticisms come just as frequently, and can be much harsher coming from a former teammate.
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