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Kendrick Perkins has built quite a reputation as a broadcaster over the past few years. Big Perk has been known for his hot takes and rather controversial views but this time, it appears that the former NBA champ has taken it to the next level with his extremely lofty praise for Brooklyn Nets superstar Kyrie Irving.
Perkins' overexuberant commendation came after Irving dropped a mind-blowing 60-point performance against the Orlando Magic on Tuesday night. It had the entire basketball world rocking as the Nets superstar was on the receiving end of some high praise from all over. As it turns out, however, Kyrie's epic evening produced one of the Perk's most outrageous statements to date:
“He is the most skilled player to ever play the game,” Perkins said on a recent episode of ESPN's NBA Today. “It is no disrespect to Michael Jordan. It is no disrespect to the late, great Kobe Bryant. It is no disrespect to Olajuwon and a lot of others. But when you look at what Kyrie doing, how he does it. It’s not what he do, it’s how he do it.”
Kyrie showcased his entire bag of tricks on Tuesday against a hapless Magic side and it was indeed a show for the ages. Nevertheless, to say that the Nets point guard is more skilled than the likes of Kobe Bryant and the GOAT himself, Michael Jordan, would be a tad contentious, to say the least.
It was actually New York Knicks veteran Evan Fournier who started this debate when he sent out a controversial tweet about Irving being the most skilled player of all time:
“Kyrie really the most skilled player ever. Not even sure its a debate,” Fournier wrote in his tweet.
Kyrie really the most skilled player ever. Not even sure its a debate.
— Evan Fournier (@EvanFourmizz) March 16, 2022
Big Perk is clearly on the same boat with Fournier and he used his platform to double down on this audacious claim.
Perkins then belabored his argument by pointing out Kyrie Irving's elite skill set. In his mind, no other player in the history of the sport holds a candle to Irving in this respect:
“At 6'2″ he has the complete offensive package,” Perkins continued. “Being able to finsih around the basket amongst the tress. He has an elite post-up game. We're talking about a guy that probably, arguably has the best handles in NBA history. And when his jumper is falling from the 3-point line, it is over. It's nothing that you could do for schemes-wise, double team, triple teams, to stop this showman when he has it going. So yes, right now today, he is the most skilled player to ever to touch the basketball.”
Perk on had this to say on your tweet Evan 👇
📽 "NBA Today"#NBATwitter https://t.co/KPNdIwBWh2 pic.twitter.com/4VNYMcWXxr
— 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧' 𝐍𝐁𝐀 (@_Talkin_NBA) March 16, 2022
More often than not, Kendrick Perkins has the tendency to ride the wave, so to speak. What Kyrie conjured on Tuesday night (note that he also dropped a 50 piece last week) was nothing short of a tidal wave. In this light, you can't really blame Perkins for being so high on Irving right now. After all, based on what we've seen from him of late, it's hard to deny that the Nets superstar is one of the top players in the game right now.
Does Kendrick Perkins actually have a point here? He's not saying that Kyrie Irving is the GOAT. What he's talking about is the elite skill set of the seven-time All-Star. It's indeed a hot take, but you at least have to give it some thought, right?
