It’s the NBA offseason, which means our basketball fix can only come from tuning in to our favorite controversial analysts, and Kendrick Perkins is one of the top names on that list. Never shy about sharing bold and sometimes baffling opinions, Perkins recently dropped another edition of “Perk’s Picks.” This time, he named his top five defensive players in the league.
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Perkins, of course, has made some horrific takes over the years. However, with this particular list, he made a bold prediction about Amen Thompson, making it clear that he has extremely high hopes for the Houston Rockets’ youngster. But placing him third, ahead of Victor Wembanyama, on national television? That takes some serious courage.
Perkins explained his reasoning by pointing out that he hasn’t seen the San Antonio Spurs star play in over six months. He also noted that Wemby hasn’t performed on the biggest stage yet, hinting that his lack of postseason success is why he landed at number four.
The former Oklahoma City Thunder big man’s fellow panelists found Perkins’ ranking absurd and felt that Wemby definitely should have been higher. “I haven’t seen him play since February. I also haven’t seen him play when the lights are the brightest, meaning I need to see him when it matters the most,” he said.
Perkins has a lot of faith in Thompson. How much? Well, he feels that the Rockets’ guard can become one of the best two players in the NBA soon. “I believe he has the possibility to be the best two-way player in the game in the next two years. A defensive pest. One of two players to go out and get 85 steals and 85 blocks last year.”
Amen is indeed a strong defensive player. But to have him over Wemby was a strong claim. KP should be credited for taking a big swing on his prediction, but that hardly excuses his horrific ranking of the potential future face of the NBA. And the list wasn’t even done yet.
No. 2 was Evan Mobley, the 2025 Defensive Player of the Year. You’d think that if Wemby didn’t top the list, the DPOY guy would. But nope. Perk dared to be different. His choice for No. 1 was Alex Caruso of the Thunder.
“What I saw was what he did in the postseason in a crucial Game 7 guarding Jokic. When you talk about a defensive specialist in a game that can go out there and cause havoc with four or five steals,” said KP about Caruso.
Caruso is indeed an ace in the hole for OKC and proved to be an efficient weapon in the postseason. Still, it’s hard to look at a list that includes someone like Wemby and feel good about him being anywhere but first. However, Perk had his own (questionable) reasoning for it.
