NBA
Kendrick Perkins Has Beef With Charles Barkley Over ESPN Comments
Published07 Mar 2025
Charles Barkley went on a rant on Inside The NBA on Thursday evening, calling out fellow media members for the way that they cover the league. There was one name that he mentioned in specific, and Kendrick Perkins has taken exception to Barkley’s comments, and has called out the Hall of Famer via social media.
Kendrick Perkins Responds To Comments Made By Charles Barkley
The tirade began with Charles Barkley calling out Perkins by name. He called the ESPN personality a “fool” and “idiot” for saying that the Lakers “saved the NBA” recently, comments that stemmed from Los Angeles’ whirlwind of a month after acquiring Luka Doncic.
Barkley complained that pundits on the “other network” (obviously referring to ESPN) only talk about the Lakers and Warriors. He cites that the fact that Thunder and Cavaliers are the two best teams in the league, but says that the teams from California are the ones that receive all the shine and air time.
Hey @NBAonTNT might wanna tell that senior citizen Charles Barkley that I’ll be around. When he see an idiot or fool in person make sure he keep that same energy. He can come playing with me if he want to and imma Address his ass like the numbers on a house. Straight from the 409…
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) March 7, 2025
As video clips of Barkley’s comments began to swirl around social media, Perkins himself spoke out via his Twitter account. He starts off by calling the 62-year-old a “senior citizen” and tells Barkley to “keep the same energy” when they see each other in person. Perkins signs off by giving the area code of his hometown, and finishes with the hashtag #TexasBoy.
The rant is not off-brand for Charles Barkley, but it certainly raised some eyebrows. Inside The NBA is in the final year of its contract with TNT, and will become an entity of ESPN during the next NBA season. His criticisms are directed at the people who work for the company that will employ him next year, something that he alluded to during the segment.
