Kevin Durant Trolls Kendrick Perkins For His Role In The Thunder's 2012 Finals Run

Former Oklahoma City Thunder big man Kendrick Perkins had a lot to say about his impact on the Thunder team that made the NBA Finals 13 years ago. In a segment on the 'Road Trippin' podcast, Perkins defended his legacy from the critics and credited himself as the difference-maker that pushed the Thunder to the Finals.

“The Oklahoma City Thunder never went to the NBA Finals until Kendrick Perkins arrived on that team," said Perk. "They couldn't get past the Lakers, who had the twin towers in Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol. In that Finals run, Kendrick Perkins (in the first round) had the assignment of guarding Dirk Nowitzki, which we swept them. Second round: Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. They did absolutely nothing. And then, in the Western Conference Finals, guess who had to guard the greatest power forward of all time by himself? We switched everything, you can go find the film. I was locking up Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. I was locking them up."

Perkins has been bitterly defending his honor from the critics, who have repeatedly tried to discredit his game. With his size and rebounding, Perk made himself useful as a role player for the Thunder, but his value is highly debated among the fans and experts. Over five years with the organization, he averaged just 4.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game on 46.3% shooting. 

According to Perkins, his presence helped elevate the Thunder to another level and gave them a shot to win the title in 2012. Of course, Kevin Durant has a different perspective and he responded to Perkins' statement the only way he knows how: with humor and sarcasm on social media.

"The actual real MVP," wrote Durant in a viral quote tweet.

In Durant's iconic MVP acceptance speech from years ago, he tapped his mom, Wanda, as the true source of his success and he tugged at the heartstrings as he showered her with credit and praise. Durant joked that Perkins, like his mother, is the "real MVP" of his old Thunder teams but we all know the truth.

In those days, the Thunder only went as far as Kevin Durant took them. In the 2011-12 season, he finished second in MVP voting with averages of 28.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game on 49.6% shooting. He was unstoppable offensively and led the Thunder to the second-best record in the West (47-19).

The only other player of comparable importance for that Thunder squad was Russell Westbrook, who ran the show at point guard for OKC. In the 2011-12 campaign, he averaged 23.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game on 45.8% shooting.

Between Durant and Westbrook, Perkins was just a side character for that Thunder squad but it doesn't mean he didn't have any kind of impact. As a steady paint presence and big body off the bench, Perkins was effective at times and he helped give the Thunder an advantage in certain matchups.

Still, Perk shouldn't oversell his role because we all know that Kevin Durant was the captain of that ship and the Thunder wouldn't have made the playoffs at all without his steady influence.