“Kendrick Perkins Wanted to Hurt Somebody”: Stephen A. Smith Responds to Charles Barkley’s Digs at ESPN

Tensions seem to be rising between future co-workers at ESPN. Some people took exception to Charles Barkley’s critical comments toward the talking heads in the media. The Inside The NBA star didn’t hold back while name-dropping Kendrick Perkins during his rant on ESPN’s coverage of the NBA. Stephen A. Smith revealed the extent of Perkins’ anger in his direct response to the Hall-of-Fame forward.

The genesis of Barkley’s frustration with ESPN stems from Perkins’ recent comments about the Lakers. The 2008 NBA champion controversially said, “The Lakers are saving the NBA.” Barkley uttered that Perkins’ take was blasphemous since the Lakers are only on a good two-week stretch.

However, Barkley’s rant didn’t go unnoticed by Perkins. The 14-year NBA veteran implored Barkley to maintain the same energy in a passionate post on X.

“Hey @NBAonTNT might wanna tell that senior citizen Charles Barkley that I’ll be around,” Perk stated. “When he see an idiot or fool in person make sure he keep that same energy. He can come playing with me if he want to and imma Address his ass like the numbers on a house.”

Perkins wasn’t alone in responding to Barkley’s comments via social media. Despite his friendship with Barkley, Stephen A. Smith didn’t back down from holding Chuck accountable for his comments.

“Yo Chuck, stop the b.s. with the ‘y’all,'” Smith said. “Attach a name to it.”

Yo Chuck, stop the b.s. with the “y’all.” Attach a name to it. I know I’ve been talking about @cavs being the No.1 threat to the @Celtics. Once you come over here, there’s gonna be some folks waiting to call YOU a fool. P.S. You know I love ya, though. See y’all soon. Yo… https://t.co/8PbBWVRlim

— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) March 7, 2025

Smith was finally allowed to speak on the topic at length in the recent episode of ESPN’s First Take. While directing a personal message to Barkley, he briefly spoke on behalf of Perkins.

“I had to call [Kendrick Perkins] and talk him off a ledge,” Smith said. “He wanted to hurt somebody. He didn’t appreciate how Barkley was coming at him.”

"We run from nothing." 😳

—@stephenasmith's response to Charles Barkley's recent comments 👀 pic.twitter.com/8E8uODSGTM

— First Take (@FirstTake) March 7, 2025

SAS made it clear he understands that’s how Barkley talks. However, he gave reasoning as to why ESPN covers the topics that they do. He pointed to the company’s long-standing run with No. 1 ratings. Smith, Perkins, and ESPN are giving the fans what they want, even if Barkley doesn’t support it.

Following Barkley’s first rant regarding ESPN, he didn’t ease up on the pressure. During the halftime show of the Lakers-Knicks game, Barkley continued the onslaught against the sports broadcasting company, and their latest obsession with the Purple and Gold.

“I’m just worried about the people on the other network,” Barkley said, while the Lakers were down 9. “They gonna be sad tomorrow. They gonna be sad and crying.” Of course, the Lakers went on to win the game, so Barkley’s comments seem really weak in hindsight.

As for what we can gather from Smith’s comments, it doesn’t seem like he was sad or crying. Perkins has yet to be on-air to provide a deeper response to Barkley’s comments, which will surely happen in the coming days.