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Kevin Durant Has 4-Word Reaction to Kendrick Perkins' Claim About 2012 Thunder

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Ashish Mathur | Last updated May 22, 2025 4:15 PM ET

Behind Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden, the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs to advance to the 2012 NBA Finals.

The Thunder faced LeBron James and the Miami Heat in the finals, losing the series in five games.

Durant was universally recognized as the most valuable player of that 2012 Thunder team because he was the leading scorer. However, Kendrick Perkins, who played on that Thunder team, believes his own defense was a big reason why OKC beat Dallas, Los Angeles and San Antonio.

On the latest episode of "Road Trippin,'" Perkins said he played strong defense on Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and Tim Duncan. The ESPN NBA analyst also stated that the Thunder "never went to the NBA Finals" until he arrived to the squad via trade with the Boston Celtics. He was with the Thunder from 2010-11 until he was traded to the Utah Jazz and eventually signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2015.

Durant, who is active on social media, saw Perkins' quote and reacted to it on X.

The actual real mvp https://t.co/n2oZclgFAD
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) May 22, 2025

Durant, who won the 2014 NBA MVP Award with the Thunder, is being sarcastic with his post. The future Hall of Famer and Perkins had a falling out a few years ago and are no longer friends.

Perkins, like many, ripped Durant for signing with the Golden State Warriors in the summer of 2016 after losing to them in the 2016 conference finals despite holding a 3-1 series lead.

The former center has also been critical of KD's lack of leadership skills with the Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns.

Durant hasn't been to the conference finals since leaving the Warriors in the summer of 2019 for the Nets. He also has been swept in the first round of the postseason twice.

The Thunder, led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, are seven wins away from accomplishing something Durant, Westbrook, Harden and Perkins never did: win a championship in OKC.

The Thunder are up 1-0 on the Minnesota Timberwolves in the conference finals. Game 2 is 8:30 p.m. ET Thursday on TNT.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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