“Joining Michael Jeffrey Jordan”: Kendrick Perkins Fiercely Defends His Ambitious Expectations From Former Team

There have only been two teams in NBA history who have won 70 games. The Thunder have a shot at potentially becoming the third ever to do it. That is how great Oklahoma City has been in the 2024-25 NBA season. Despite their dominance over the league, many continue to doubt their ability come playoffs. ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins is a firm believer in his former team and defends them wholeheartedly while putting them in the same company as the legendary Michael Jordan.

OKC has been steamrolling through the competition this year. They currently hold a 64-12 record with six games remaining. At the moment, their net rating on the season is +13.4, which puts them tied for the best all-time with the 1995-96 Bulls.

Additionally, the Thunder are extremely young, which is unheard of for a championship contender. Their average age is 24.8, which would cement them as the second youngest team to win a title behind the 1976-77 Trail Blazers (24.19).

Stephen A. Smith and Kendrick Perkins are excited about what the Thunder will do in the playoffs. As a former member of the Thunder, Perkins’ excitement is through the roof. However, he can differentiate his bias when analyzing OKC. On ESPN’s First Take, he adamantly defended the Thunder. He said, “I’m sick of the disrespect to the Oklahoma City Thunder.”

“The Oklahoma City Thunder are going to the NBA Finals,” Perkins declared on national television. “They have a bonafide superstar in SGA who by the way is joining Michael Jeffrey Jordan this season far as guys averaging 30 shooting 50% doing it for three seasons.”

Perkins added how the Thunder have a big dynamic duo of Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein. On top of all that, Perkins is convinced about the team’s depth and their ability to defend at all positions.

This reaction from ‘Big Perk’ was prompted following Marcus Morris’ take that the Lakers are more trustworthy to reach the NBA Finals. He didn’t take kindly to Morris discrediting the Thunder. He proceeded to raise comparisons to SGA’s tremendous season to the likes of Jordan.

Gilgeous-Alexander is on pace to average 30 points on 50% or greater shooting from the field. This will be his third consecutive season achieving this feat. The only other player to do that is MJ, who did it for five straight seasons. Perkins pointed to this development as one of the main reasons he believes OKC will be in the Finals.

He isn’t wrong for coming to that conclusion. The Thunder have incredible depth, size and defense, which are all key components for any championship-level team. The power is in OKC’s hands to capitalize on their potential and be the last team remaining housing the Larry O’Brien Trophy.