“We went from being best friends to him playing at Golden State" - Kendrick Perkins on falling out with Kevin Durant
Kevin Durant and Kendrick Perkins have come at each other in recent years for several reasons. What makes their feud all the more surprising is that they were once good friends.
On The Old Man & the Three with JJ Redick and Tommy Alter, Perkins provided an insight into how it all started. The ESPN analyst recalled that things went sour after a rant on television.
"The same Perk you see on television is the same guy that I was in the locker room. So, I will say the same thing to the guys as far as holding them accountable. Me and Kevin Durant fell out, right? We went from being best friends to him playing at Golden State.
"when he tore his Achilles, I remember going to his house because I was out there working the game in the finals. I mean, when he had the calf strain. I went to his house, and I was like, 'Look bro, you don't have a damn thing to prove, shut it down. There's no reason for you to even be playing, you're a two-time champion two-time finalist MVP.'
Perkins revealed that Durant did not heed his advice and suited up anyway.
"So, what'd he do? He go out there and play, right? And ended up tearing his Achilles. The next day I go on TV and I fire Bob Myers up. Yo, Bob Myers put pressure on him to play. I spilled all the beans that I wasn't supposed to say. I was supposed to keep in-house, but I didn't know.
"I'm just speaking my mind and taking up with my boy. I didn't really give a damn about Bob Myers. I was just p****d off that you know KD was out there playing. He shouldn't have been."
The beef between the two has since escalated. In 2020, Perkins took an sly dig at Durant by calling Russell Westbrook the best player to ever put on an Oklahoma City Thunder jersey.
Kevin Durant then pointed out Perkins' poor production, while Perkins called Durant a "coward" for joining the Warriors.
@KDTrey5 @Marc_DAmico @SportsCenter That’s fine!!! You worked that hard and still had to go join a 73-9 team. Truth be told you don’t even feel like a real Champ, you have hard time sleeping at night huh knowing that you took the coward way out!!!
Kevin Durant and Kendrick Perkins were once teammates with the Oklahoma City Thunder
Perkins joined the OKC Thunder a few years after winning a championship with the Boston Celtics. He stayed in Oklahoma for around four years and played alongside Durant and Westbrook.
In that period, the Thunder were regular contenders. Their best playoff run came in the 2011-12 season, when they reached the NBA Finals.
Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden’s Thunder were a young team overmatched by Heat in 2012 NBA Finals.
I spent a week in Oklahoma last summer & learned how big of a regret that was for Harden & Durant.
Durant Won multiple w/ GSW. Kyrie Irving Won 1 w/ Cavs. https://t.co/128i9BwY9O
Although they had the second-best offense in the league, they were no match for the Miami Heat's "Big Three." Led by LeBron James, Miami won four straight games after losing Game 1 on the road.
Although OKC made attempts to contend for a title in the next few years, they never had the firepower to go the distance.