“Lemme Apologize to Nicki Minaj”: Kendrick Perkins Backtracks on Comparing Minaj to Jimmy Butler After Backlash

Prateek Singh | 08/02/2025
Nicki Minaj (L) and Kendrick Perkins (R)

Kendrick Perkins’ music analogy to put the Jimmy Butler trade in perspective has backfired. The former NBA star made the mistake of putting Nicki Minaj on his analogy as an inferior artist to Beyonce and Taylor Swift. He was trying to make a point that adding Butler isn’t going to make a difference for the Golden State Warriors side because he isn’t as great as a legitimate superstar.

Perkins should’ve known that the Queen of Rap has a dedicated army of fans, known as the Barbz. Minaj’s fandom is very similar to Beyonce’s BeyHive or Eminem’s Stans. After he made that comment, the Barbz have given Perkins a taste of what it’s like to be on the receiving end.

On NBA Today, he issued an apology to the Trinidadian rapper and her fans. Perkins said, “Lemme apologize to Nicki Minaj and the Barbz. They’ve been on my a**…I apologize. I’m a fan. Please forgive me. I don’t want no smoke.”

While Perkins was saying his piece, Malika Andrews and Udonis Haslem reminded him that they warned Perkins about the consequences yesterday.

But what did Perkins say about Minaj that ticked off her fans? On yesterday’s show, while discussing the Butler trade, he said, “I’m thinking they are gonna go out there and get a Beyoncé or Taylor Swift. They end up getting a Nicki Minaj…and that’s okay.”

Perkins was hoping that the Warriors would get a bigger player who could help their current campaign, but instead, they got Butler.

He should’ve used a better analogy to convey his message because not only did he tick off the Barbz, but he was also wrong about Minaj’s stature in music as arguably the greatest female rapper of all time. Interestingly, Perkins isn’t the only one unhappy with the trade, but he is the only one with a bad analogy for it.

Gilbert Arenas doesn’t think Jimmy Butler can make a difference

Butler’s saga with the Miami Heat finally came to an end on 6th February. The forward has signed a two-year, $121 million contract extension with the Warriors. While Butler’s talent and his playoff brilliance are undeniable, Arenas thinks that he is “barely moving the needle for the Warriors.”

On an episode of Gil’s Arena, he said that adding Butler to the roster isn’t going to make the Warriors title contenders. He said, “The teams that are playing right now for championships, they actually got better.” When asked how the addition of Butler isn’t making the Warriors better, Rashad McCants jumped in to finish Gil’s point.

He said, “What Gil is saying is put the team where it is, at 10th. You add Jimmy, you go to 7th.”

McCants believes that if a team’s roster is being shaken up, then their position should change directly into being title contenders, which isn’t the case with the Warriors.

Post Edited By: Satagni Sikder
Jimmy Butler Kendrick Perkins

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Prateek Singh

Prateek is a Senior NBA Writer for The SportsRush. He has over 900 published articles under his name. Prateek merged his passion for writing and his love for the sport of basketball to make a career out of it. Other than basketball, he is also an ardent follower of the UFC and soccer. Apart from the world of sports, he has followed hip-hop religiously and often writes about the origins, evolution, and the biggest stars of the music genre.

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