Kendrick Perkins. Chris Humphreys-Imagn Images

Ex-Thunder stars mock Kendrick Perkins' 'leader' claim

By Sai Mohan | Last updated Feb 7, 2025 9:21 AM ET

A role player is oftentimes the leader of a successful ball club, not a superstar. James Posey was the locker-room leader of the 2008 Celtics over Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. Udonis Haslem and David West were leaders of the 2012 Heat and 2017 Warriors, respectively.

Kendrick Perkins was similarly viewed as the locker room leader of the 2012 Thunder team that reached the NBA Finals. Or so we thought.

On Thursday, several of Perkins' teammates from that squad laughed off the notion that he was their leader. The reactions came after Perkins declared himself the leader of that iteration of the Thunder.

Even with a chaotic NBA trade deadline, Kevin Durant couldn't believe what Kendrick Perkins said pic.twitter.com/SHBKkopSeH
— The Athletic NBA (@TheAthleticNBA) February 6, 2025

In fairness to Perkins, he did play a key role in the Thunder reaching the 2012 NBA Finals. During the Western Conference Finals, Perkins held his own against Tim Duncan while matching up against the Spurs legend. In the Finals, though, the Thunder couldn't stand up to the Heat's small-ball unit that used Chris Bosh as a stretch five.

Perkins anointed himself the leader of the Thunder while questioning Kevin Durant's leadership abilities. After Thursday's NBA trade deadline, Perkins seemed to blame Durant for failing to get the best out of Devin Booker and Bradley Beal in Phoenix.

"You give LeBron [James] Bradley Beal and Devin Booker, [the Suns] wouldn't be sitting at 25 [wins]," Perkins said on ESPN's "NBA Today" while taking a swipe at Durant's leadership skills.

"I said, 'Kevin Durant, another organization, another failure.' I didn't say it was his fault."@KendrickPerkins and @ThisIsUD share the importance of a strong supporting cast and leadership in the locker room pic.twitter.com/LZaztzjWuY
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) February 6, 2025

Sai Mohan

A veteran sportswriter based in Portugal, Sai covers the NBA for Yardbarker and a few local news outlets. He had the honor of covering sporting events across four different continents as a newspaper reporter. Some of his all-time favorite athletes include Mike Tyson, Larry Bird, Luís Figo, Ayrton Senna and Steffi Graf.

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