The feud between ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins and TNT Sports’ Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal continued on Friday as Perkins joined The Michael Kay Show again and took another jab at the two NBA Hall of Famers.
Perkins initially accused Barkley and O’Neal of underestimating the New York Knicks because they don’t watch the NBA enough to be successful analysts. They responded by calling Perkins a “roach” and laughing off the idea of a career journeyman coming at them.
“I have great respect for both of those legends over there, Charles and Shaq,” Perkins said. “The only problem that I had with it is the calling out on my name as a roach … other than that, it’s all fun and games. And hopefully that made them up their game and actually start watching the games even more.”
Perkins clearly knew what was coming. He may have partially been playing to Knicks fans who listen to Kay’s local show, and partially been trying to drum up attention. But the ESPN NBA analyst said the duo’s response on Inside the NBA didn’t bother him.
“I’ve never been a guy who’s been sensitive about anything, and guess what? I’ve been called worse by better people,” Perkins said. “It came from a genuine place, I wasn’t saying it to ruffle feathers. I just said it, and I meant it.”
Perkins watched Barkley and O’Neal punch his face on a punching bag, and thought it was funny.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSM4mDnxVfU
“Charles is harmless, he just wants to have a good time,” Perkins said. “It’s all fun and games, and I actually love the response. I actually had a response for them, but I was like, at the end of the day I’m good, because I didn’t want to waste too much energy in going back and forth with them throughout this moment when I need to be focused on the playoffs.”
This one seems to be fizzling out, though as long as the Knicks’ playoff run continues, you can bet Kay’s show will keep it alive as an us against the world narrative for local hoops fans.
