Luka Dončić has enjoyed immense playoff success throughout his first eight seasons, highlighted by an NBA Finals appearance with the Dallas Mavericks in 2024. However, after watching the Los Angeles Lakers superstar miss this year’s postseason, ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins is already comparing Dončić to one of the league’s most injury-prone players, Joel Embiid.
Perkins’ controversial take promptly sent the NBA world into an uproar, with many questioning his logic.
Kendrick Perkins Faces Heat Over ‘Nonsense’ Luka Dončić-Joel Embiid Comparison
Dončić was in the midst of one of his best offensive stretches, leading the league in scoring (33.5 points per game) before a Grade 2 left hamstring strain cut his season short. The six-time All-Star missed the final five contests of the 2025-26 regular season and LA’s entire 10-game playoff run.
While Dončić made a concerted effort to return, he ultimately admitted that he “wasn’t close” to doing so after the Lakers were swept out of the second round by the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Still, Dončić has long been fairly reliable, having played in at least 60 games in all but one season and having participated in 55 postseason contests in his relatively young career. It appears Perkins views the situation differently, though.
“Luka Dončić, for the last three years, it’s been something come postseason time, whether it’s been out of shape or him dealing with some type of injuries, and majority of the time, it comes to soft tissue injuries. So if you’re the Lakers, you have a concern there,” Perkins said on “First Take.”
“… Luka is a fantastic talent; we’re not going to take that away from him. One of the best scorers that this game has ever seen. But when it comes to being reliable, Luka is starting to get in that territory of Joel Embiid. When you need him the most, and it comes postseason time, he’s not available, and if he is available, he’s never close to 70% because he’s always dealing with injuries.”
“Luka is starting to get in that territory of Joel Embiid. When you need him the most, and it comes postseason time, he’s not available.” 👀
—@KendrickPerkins on if the Lakers should prioritize Luka or LeBron 🍿 pic.twitter.com/OjSUbQo4gU
— First Take (@FirstTake) May 14, 2026
Unlike Dončić, Embiid has struggled to stay on the court throughout his career. Since being drafted in 2014, the Philadelphia 76ers star has appeared in 60-plus games in just four seasons. Meanwhile, injuries have contributed to Embiid never making it past the playoffs’ second round despite Philadelphia often being predicted to make deep runs in the Eastern Conference.
Through 55 postseason outings, Dončić is averaging 30.9 ppg on 46.1% shooting. Embiid, on the other hand, holds averages of 24.8 ppg on slightly worse efficiency (45.9% shooting) across 66 playoff contests despite being a 7-footer.
As such, the NBA community on X wasn’t too fond of Perkins’ comparison.
“This is one of those examples that is supposed to slander a player, but they end up getting praised because of how dumb the hot take is. Perkins really outdid himself with this one,” one user asserted.
This is one of those examples that is supposed to slander a player but they end up getting praised because of how dumb the hot take is
Perkins really outdid himself with this one https://t.co/2qeLetV6O6
— HEADBAND LUKA (@Headbandlukaa) May 14, 2026
“Kendrick Perkins lost his f*cking mind putting Luka and Joel Embiid in the same sentence,” another contended.
“Luka playoff availability by year:
2020: Played in every playoff game
2021: Played in every playoff game
2022: Played in 15/18 playoff games
2023: Team missed playoffs
2024: Played in every playoff game
2025: Played in every playoff game
2026: Injured,” Synthetic Sports wrote, underscoring Dončić’s reliability.
Luka playoff availability by year:
2020: Played in every playoff game
2021: Played in every playoff game
2022: Played in 15/18 playoff games
2023: Team missed playoffs
2024: Played in every playoff game
2025: Played in every playoff game
2026: Injured https://t.co/ann4inC1dq— Synthetic Sports (@SyntheticSports) May 14, 2026
“This is complete nonsense. Prior to this year, Luka Dončić had played in 55 of the 58 playoff games he could have played in throughout his career,” sports anchor Mike Leslie slammed Perkins’ take.
This is complete nonsense.
Prior to this year, Luka Doncic had played in 55 of the 58 playoff games he could have played in throughout his career. https://t.co/HIYsbNlkXS
— Mike Leslie (@MikeLeslieWFAA) May 14, 2026
“First off, the comparison is disgusting. Second, when do we start holding the coaching and medical staff accountable? They ran him into the ground all through March, then threw him back out there in the second half of a game that was already over after he got injured in the first half. That’s called malpractice,” Dončić fan account Showtime Luka defended the Lakers standout.
First off, the comparison is disgusting. Second, when do we start holding the coaching and medical staff accountable? They ran him into the ground all through March, then threw him back out there in the second half of a game that was already over after he got injured in the first… https://t.co/aTxJrVwSdu
— Showtime Luka (@showtimeluka) May 14, 2026
“He. Made. The. FINALS,” CBS Sports’ Sam Quinn pushed back.
He. Made. The. FINALS. https://t.co/Xk3DwHLBF7
— Sam Quinn (@SamQuinnCBS) May 14, 2026
“He’s missed THREE playoff games before this season. He’s not even in the vicinity or zip code of Joel Embiid lol,” sideline reporter Ashley Nicole Moss dismissed Perkins’ comparison.
he’s missed THREE playoff games before this season. he’s not even in the vicinity or zip code of Joel Embiid lol https://t.co/T2B9E3olJ2
— Ashley Nicole Moss (@AshNicoleMoss) May 14, 2026
Nevertheless, in typical fashion, Perkins stood by his divisive take, reiterating that he doesn’t “trust” Dončić as much as his 41-year-old Lakers co-star LeBron James.
