“Yall might want to listen when a brother like @Rjeff24 has played in 140 playoff games, 4 NBA Finals appearances and 1 NBA Championship. I think he just might know a thing or two when it comes to the postseason,” wrote Kendrick Perkins in defense of Richard Jefferson back in April 2024. That tweet is just one example that highlights the bond that the two former players have formed with each other.

Throughout the 6 years that the duo have served on ESPN together, we have gotten several glimpses of the humorous jabs they take at each other. At the same time, we have also seen how they come to each other’s aid when needed. Amidst Perkins’ ongoing issues with Bill Simmons, Jefferson found a way to repay his co-worker for the tweet, and also roast him a bit.

A few hours ago, Kendrick Perkins put out a video on his official X page. He took a shot at Bill Simmons by stating, “I don’t know who anointed you the preacher or king or head honcho overseeing basketball and the way things need to be. What have you done? What have you done, period, in the game of basketball? Have you ever played?”

That was just one part of a 2:38-minute-long video. Soon, several people descended into the comments section. One social media user criticized Perkins himself by saying “This guy doesn’t even have his own pod to sling shit on talking about getting his own episode on Richard Jefferson’s pod 😂”. Unfortunately, his tweet got the attention of Richard Jefferson himself. An insult thrown at his good friend and co-worker? Oh, there was no way he was going to remain silent.

“Perk is family at @RoadTrippinPod… we split dollars evenly ain’t that right @RealAClifton @channingfrye. Been that way since day 1. Everyone makes the same and carries the same weight. Ok maybe @KendrickPerkins carries a little more 😈” wrote Jefferson in response. Managing to get in a roast in a touching moment is a true definition of what a best friend can do for you.

The alleged feud between Kendrick Perkins and Bill Simmons originated amidst the latter’s criticism of ESPN’s 2025 NBA Draft coverage. For this event, ESPN gave basketball fans multiple options. The same has been a part of the network’s trend for both their NBA and NFL Draft plans in recent years. Malika Andrews hosted with Jay Bilas, Kendrick Perkins, and Andraya Carter as the main crew, while ABC featured Kevin Negandhi hosting with Stephen A. Smith and Bob Myers.

However, neither of the two coverage worked well for fans, with complaints being raised about reading each player’s Wikipedia entry, bombastic shouting, generalized takes, etc.

In the episode of ‘The Bill Simmons’ podcast following Day 1 of the Draft, the analyst criticized the duelling ESPN presentations by saying “I didn’t know which telecast to watch. It was like, do I take this samurai sword and jam it into my temple or do I take this chainsaw and saw my leg off? I couldn’t figure it out”. Yikes!

Kendrick Perkins has a history of making his voice known when he disagrees with a take. Therefore, the video was a surprise, but not a big one. The 40-year-old made his true feelings known by saying stuff like “Thinking about Bill Simmons cupcake a-s — always got my name in his mouth, but I’m going to address you Sunday”. He added to that by saying he’s going to “get on [Simmons’] a-s like back pockets”.

It didn’t take long for Bill Simmons to respond back. Taking to the comments section, he wrote, “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.  If you actually think Toronto will be top-6 in the East in anything other than “most fun place to visit” — let’s wager on it ASAP.”

Well, looks like this issue is not going away anytime soon.

At times like this, you need reliable people supporting you. Richard Jefferson is just that. His jumping to Perkins’ defense is what true friends do. Or, maybe he was just trying to get back in his co-worker’s good graces after a ‘misunderstanding’.

Kendrick Perkins trolled Richard Jefferson for interaction with his wife

During Game 5 of the NBA Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers, the trio of Richard Jefferson, Kendrick Perkins, and Scott Van Pelt was present at the broadcast table. As the conversation began to conclude between the trio, Perkins suddenly asked the former Warriors player, “Was you just waving at my wife?”

Jefferson immediately defended himself by saying, “I said, ‘Hi, Van. Hi, girl’” while once again waving in the direction where Perkins’s wife was seated. He further added to his defense by saying, “Yeah, she was waving. She waved at me first. She waved at me. She waved at me first!”

Fortunately, Perkins laughed and made it clear he was just joking around. Scott Van Pelt tried to regain control and get back to discussing NBA, but the background laughter made it hard to do so. Van Pelt himself later added humour to the segment by saying to Jefferson, “Stop blowing kisses out here.”

Using humor in such segments isn’t anything common. It is what made the ‘Inside the NBA’ crew at TNT enjoyable to watch. It helps create some viral moments. For close friends like Richard Jefferson and Kendrick Perkins, it is just one way to keep things interesting when trading views on the current state of the NBA. And unlike how Bill Simmons and Kendrick Perkins do it, the conversation between these two is humorous.