“My big dumba**, I’m like fu*k it” Kendrick Perkins pulls curtain on playing devil’s advocate to Stephen A. Smith
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Kendrick Perkins and Stephen A Smith
Former Boston Celtic star and NBA Champion Kendrick Perkins unearths some of the secrets to the media as he recently joined veteran analyst Stephen A Smith in the latest episode of talk-show First Take.
Many of the former NBA stars have joined TV analytical shows or debates to put forward their views on the ongoing events around the league. One of them is big man Kendrick Perkins He has certainly made a name for himself as one of the dominating and outspoken personalities on the TV. Out of many NBA media personalities today, Perkins has managed to put his views on one of the most famous shows on the NBA – “First Take First”. But even he has to admit sometimes the folks behind the scenes nudge him even further during his appearances on the show.
Big Perk gave a little insight on that during a recent appearance on JJ Redick’s Old Man and the Three podcast as he said, “So sometimes, I may play devil’s advocate and say f–k it. And I remember it was last year the Phoenix Suns jump out on the Milwaukee Bucks 2-0. And so I’m getting ready to go on First Take the next morning and they’re like, ‘Hey Perk, would you go up and sit here and say that the Phoenix Suns are on the verge of being a dynasty?”
Kendrick Perkins talks about behind the curtain scenes
As an analyst or giving an opinion on certain incidents around the game, no one would want to be fed with the “views” others might like to hear – in order to give the most authentic answers to the questions in front. But as per Kendrick’s claims he was given input to direct his discussion point on the show.
Kendrick Perkins’s take certainly seems outrageous in hindsight. In the example provided by the former NBA Champion, it was very clear that words were put into his mouth whether or not he truly believed in the Phoenix Suns at that point. The hype was needed around Phoenix Suns who were making some positive advancements toward their 1st ever NBA Championship.
It was preemptive to say anything that extreme before they actually won the Larry O’Brien trophy. Sadly the Suns lost last season and this season couldn’t match last season’s performance, putting a big question mark over the “dynasty” claim on the show. But that’s just how the media machine works in this day and age.
Kendrick Perkins continued to give some more details on the podcast, “So my big dumb–s, I’m like ‘f–k it, hell yeah I’ll jump out on a limb.’ … At that point it looked like Phoenix was the better team before Giannis flipped the script. So I jumped on First Take the next morning and was like, ‘When I look at Devin Booker, Mikal Bridges, De’Andre Ayton … they have the core.’ I just jumped off the porch. They end up f–king losing the series. People still bring that s–t up to this day,”
When fans look for the reviews or analysis on the show, they always hope or 1st hand words – maybe even with retakes. But it’s an inside look behind the scenes at how those loud sports debate shows operate. In reality, it’s not something all that surprising, but to hear Kendrick Perkins admit it so candidly is certainly interesting.
But the sure thing is that strings are in hands of the big producers and so-called analysts especially new ones need to see through the show organizers’ eyes.
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Kunal Chawda
(600 Articles Published)