Kendrick Perkins slams Bill Simmons after ESPN criticism

Kendrick Perkins is one of the most prominent faces of NBA coverage on ESPN. Naturally, he was involved in the network's coverage of the 2025 Draft. And while he does have his critics, no one who's criticized Big Perk too much is as big a media figure as Bill Simmons.

Simmons took a shot at Perkins after the former NBA champion claimed that the Toronto Raptors could finish in the top 6 in the Eastern Conference.

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“They took Collin Murray-Boyles, and Perk said they had the pieces to be a top-six team in the East,” Simmons said. “And at that point, I started looking for a third ESPN channel, but there were only two covering the draft. There wasn’t a third one.

Big Perk took offense to this, taking to Twitter to upload a video calling out the podcasting legend.

“I don’t know who anointed you the preacher or king or head honcho overseeing basketball and the way things need to be,” Perkins said. “What have you done? What have you done, period, in the game of basketball? Have you ever played? 

“Man, shut up. You didn’t think before you started drinking them Heinekens. And then you got your little peanut gallery on the podcast who just agree with you. Man, shut the hell up. The hell you done? I’m gonna get more on your a** come Sunday, believe that."

These are big words from Perkins, especially considering that the main man at ESPN, Stephen A. Smith, himself hasn't achieved much in the game of basketball. Simmons was unfazed, though, even responding on X.

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I’m honored that you sat in a car for 2+ minutes to scold me on your iPhone like this, even though we are a combined age of like 92," Simmons wrote. If you think Toronto will be top-6 in the East in anything other than 'most fun place to visit', let’s wager on it ASAP."

It's hard to say whether this is the beginning of a beef or whether it will die here. It's safe to say that Bill managed to get under the skin of one of ESPN's greatest hot-take artists, though.

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