This should be considered a dark time in NBA media history. Renowned sports analysts are getting fact checked and being proven wrong. Today, Kendrick Perkins tried to get away with some rather false narratives while throwing shade on LeBron James. However, Richard Jefferson came in to save the day as he wasn’t going to let that happen on his watch, especially since his name was brought up in the lie.
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Earlier in the day, it was Stephen A. Smith who tried to get away with a lie against LBJ. ESPN’s $100 million man boldly claimed that the Lakers superstar didn’t attend the celebration of life of the late, great Kobe Bryant.
Stephen A. was heavily criticized for bringing up this subject for personal gain. However, more than the fact that he stooped so low, what mattered more was that he needed to be proven wrong. It didn’t take long for fans to throw reality at his face. Perkins tried to do the same thing on First Take while talking about LeBron’s new podcast co-host.
LBJ had started the Mind the Game pod with JJ Redick last year. When Redick got the Lakers’ head coach job, they had to discontinue the podcast. The 4x MVP announced that former two-time MVP Steve Nash will join him as a new co-host. Perkins, seemingly hinting at race being a factor here, questioned why LBJ didn’t choose Richard Jefferson, Channing Frye, Phil Handy, or Draymond Green.
For a subject so touchy, it was necessary to debunk his theory. Jefferson did it the right way with a simple response. “Bron been on @RoadTrippinPod [Jefferson’s podcast] so many times,” he responded to the clip via X.
Bron been on @RoadTrippinPod so many times 😂😂🙄 https://t.co/qjttUNZaCH
— Richard Jefferson (@Rjeff24) March 27, 2025
What makes this even more comical is the fact that Perk ahs been an on-and-off staple for ‘Road Trippin’ alongside Jefferson and Frye. Clearly there is a great sense of comradery between the three and yet the former Thunder center decided to go down this route with his take.
Fans rip apart Kendrick Perkins for his comment
Amidst the ongoing “beef” between LeBron and Stephen A., it seems like other ESPN employees are joining in from SAS’s side. While they’re willing to go to any length in this, they’re losing more fans than they’re realizing. One fan wrote that they’re trying to paint LBJ as racist. The fan wrote, “Ow they tryna act like Bron only Fcuk with white people First Take shameless.”
Ow they tryna act like Bron only Fcuk with white people First Take shameless
— EL (@BrewMillionaire) March 27, 2025
Another fan wrote that the First Take crew has run out of ideas to belittle LeBron’s legacy, so they’re now resorting to anything that works. The fan wrote, “This people really can’t find a reason not to like LeBron. They’re talking about his Podcast guest … LeBron really has a flawless resume.”
This people really can’t find a reason not to like LeBron. They’re talking about his Podcast guest 😂… LeBron really has a flawless resume
— Hawk (@RICK_HAWK_BACK) March 27, 2025
Some fans openly called it what it was, race-baiting. The shameless decision to plug race into this as if that’s what it takes for LBJ to make his decisions isn’t sitting well with fans. One fan wrote, “Perk is always race baiting.”
Perk is always race baiting.
— Robert 💔💔💔 (@RobertRaymond46) March 27, 2025
It’ll be interesting to see if Perkins will apologize for his comment after being checked by Jefferson, or if he’ll come up with another theory to target James.