Kendrick Perkins continues to embarrass himself by comparing himself to Rudy Gobert

After he attacked Rudy Gobert, a former big man for the Utah Jazz, for being chosen as the 2024 NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Kendrick Perkins already looked foolish. He has now intensified his criticism on Gobert. It has nothing to do with Gobert not winning defensive player of the year this time. It’s more about how, in his opinion, he could accomplish something Gobert could not.

Perkins asserted, in a conversation with Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson, that he had done something that Gobert had not.

“Many believed that I was capping.” I outperformed Rudy in the postseason in terms of defense. I mean in terms of a career. You may watch the film again and see my appearances at key points. There was no Defensive Player of the Year trophy given to me. I appeared at significant times. Man, he didn’t.

Naturally, Luka Doncic, one of the NBA’s finest scorers who is virtually unstoppable, making the game-winning three to give the Timberwolves a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference Finals forms the foundation of Perkins’ case. Certainly, Perkins never experienced something similar while playing in the NBA.

It’s one thing to think Gobert is overvalued. However, there’s also the use of your heritage in particular to minimize him. Even while he is really obnoxious, especially when it comes to Gobert, if he were, say, Draymond Green, he would have a point when comparing their respective legacies. Kendrick Perkins, though?

Perkins has three previous NBA Finals trips and a championship to his name throughout his fifteen-year NBA career. To put everything in perspective, his most recent experience came from ring-chasing with the Cavaliers in 2015, even though Kevin Love was not on the team. He hardly played at all during that season.

It is absurd to think he ever played better defense than Gobert. Playing alongside to two of the greatest defensive big men of their respective periods, in Kevin Garnett and Serge Ibaka, helps you develop your defense skills.

Perkins was the equivalent of the Boston Celtics’ Ringo Starr among their starting five during his time there. Was he able to assist them? Yes, but that doesn’t mean that he wasn’t a replacement. During his prime, he excelled at defending physically strong centers like Dwight Howard and Andrew Bynum. But the Celtics were quite fine without him.