Thunder’s Perkins and Ibaka Frustrated With Reggie Jackson

By Cameron La Fontaine | Nov 7, 2014

The Oklahoma City Thunder could chose to deal with guard Reggie Jackson rather than extend him, much like they did with NBA All-Star James Harden Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports /

Oklahoma City players Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins grew frustrated with Reggie Jackson during the point guard’s NBA season debut Monday against the Brooklyn Nets.

Reggie Jackson made it clear before the season that he wanted to be a starter for the Oklahoma City Thunder, but with Russell Westbrook on the team, that wasn’t going to happen. With Westbrook out with an injury until the end of November, Jackson has been able to get some starting time, but not to the pleasure of some teammates.

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Reggie Jackson played in his first game of the season Monday against the Brooklyn Nets and he led the team with 23 points, but teammates Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka weren’t happy with what seemed to be a one-man mentality. Jackson took 20 shots and while he had five assists, he had seven turnovers and five fouls.

Due to his selfish play, Perkins and Ibaka began freezing out Jackson, not passing him the ball even after rebounds where they elected to take the ball up the court on their own.

After the game Reggie Jackson was criticized by Thunder coach Scott Brooks for not passing the ball more, but Perkins recently apologized for the way he played.

“Just let the game come to you,” Perkins said about Jackson. “But with myself and with Serge, we got to do a better job with our body language and leadership skills, because I didn’t like the way I acted in the Brooklyn game as far as my body language toward Reggie. But we know Reggie means well. We support him. He’s one of my good friends off the court. So it’s no harm in that.”

When asked about how fans might respond to Reggie Jackson’s selfish play, he said he didn’t really care about what the fans said.

“I don’t play for the fans so I’m not worried,” Jackson said. “As long as my teammates know that my heart’s in the right spot, that I’m trying to do everything I can to go out there and compete and help my teammates and that we’re all trying to rally and get a win, that’s all I care about. Some fans are going to cheer you on. Some fans aren’t going to do so. They’re going to criticize you. That’s how the world works. So I’m not really worried about it.”

Hopefully Reggie Jackson can get himself under control and become more of a leader and a true point guard so that the 1-4 Oklahoma City Thunder can find some success in the month of November without Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.

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