LeBron James was caught off guard by sharp criticism from a former NBA player and ESPN analyst. The Los Angeles Lakers star has been under increased scrutiny lately, especially after a public back-and-forth with Stephen A. Smith and his assertion that the NBA isn’t being covered the right way.
When one of the most influential players in league history speaks, fans pay attention. James likely anticipated some backlash, but his comments about media coverage sparked strong reactions, including a blunt response from former teammate Kendrick Perkins.
Kendrick Perkins Urges LeBron James To Stop Being Sensitive
Although it’s a broad generalization to label today’s players as overly sensitive, Perkins didn’t hesitate to do just that in his critique of James. Perkins, now an ESPN analyst, didn’t hold back. Despite once sharing the court with James, he made it clear that he had no problem calling him out.
“LeBron James needs to stop. He needs to stop. I’m so sick of him with his, ‘Oh, how the league is covered’ because he wants it to be covered in a certain way that he wants it to be covered,” Perkins started.
“I’ve been knowing LeBron since 1988. … The problem that I have is, one, everything that comes out of LeBron James’ mouth ain’t the damn gospel. No. 2, we are in 2025; it’s a different era. Damnit, you have to adjust. But here’s the thing: the coverage of the NBA, in my opinion, has been the same since I’ve arrived in the NBA, since I grew up as a youngster watching the NBA,'” Perkins said.
Perkins then pointed out that past NBA legends faced the same level of criticism.
“Magic Johnson. Was he not criticized? Kobe Bryant. Was he not criticized? Michael Jordan. Was he not criticized? Allen Iverson. He was criticized. So, in today’s game, these players are so sensitive. So sensitive that it just don’t make any damn sense,” Perkins said.
Kendrick Perkins goes after LeBron James
“LeBron James need to stop. He needs to stop. I’m so sick of him with this ‘oh how the league is covered’ because he wanted to be covered a certain way.”
(h/t @awfulannouncing )
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) March 27, 2025
The former NBA champion wasn’t done. He shared a personal story about a lesson he learned from Kevin Garnett.
“When I think about my boy, Kevin Garnett, and what he told me in 2008-2009, Kevin Garnett was out. He was hurt — he hurt his knee — he was out for the majority of the season. Rondo, he had elevated his game to another level. All of a sudden, Doc Rivers, he started running post-ups for me and things of that nature. And I remember KG telling me something,” Perkins said.
“He said, Perk, just like your big a** run home and turn on ESPN when you have a good game, keep that same energy when you have a bad game and use that fuel to go out there and prove people wrong.”
Perkins concluded: “Right, this is what you signed up for. When you entered the draft, you signed up for the good thing and the bad thing. it comes with the territory, and its fair criticism. If you play well, we’re gonna give you your flowers. If you play like garbage then we gotta critique you. It is what it is.”
Having another former NBA player deliver this message to James likely carries more weight than if it had come from Stephen A. Smith alone. Perkins made it clear—scrutiny has always existed in the NBA.
That said, there’s still a debate about whether today’s stars face a different level of pressure due to social media. Players from past generations didn’t have to deal with the constant online microscope.
Regardless, Perkins believes LeBron is being overly sensitive. Publicly calling out the media in frustration might not have been the best move for the four-time NBA champion.
The real question now is whether James takes the criticism in stride and uses it as motivation—or if he fires back at Perkins like he did at Stephen A. Smith.