The NBA Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers will bring an NBA title to a city that has never won it before. The only downside? Fans in that city will have had to survive up to seven games of Kendrick Perkins.
NBA Twitter is no fan of Perkins. He's already been roundly criticized as part of ESPN's subpar NBA coverage (compared to the deep analysis you'll find whenever an NFL analyst like Mina Kimes is on the network). If fans thought it would get any better with ESPN broadcasting the finals, they were mistaken.
Right away in pregame coverage, Perkins gifted his critics more juice by trying to compare Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
Kendrick Perkins really compared Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to Michael Jordan
There are so many things a pregame show could cover ahead of Game 1 of the NBA Finals. More than anything, Game 1 coverage should lean into the matchup. What happened the last time these teams played? What matchups hold the most intrigue? What kind of basketball can fans expect to see?
Discussing legacy before the opening tip, when neither SGA nor Tyrese Haliburton has done anything legacy defining is silly. The MJ or Kobe comp is ridiculous at this stage even if SGA does lead the Thunder to the championship. One title does not make a legend.
These are questions to ask when a player is going for title No. 3 or 4.
But this is what you get from an ESPN that's more interested in "Embrace Debate" than actual analysis. The fans can see that.
Inside the NBA on TNT proved you can lean into hilarity and shenanigans while still providing valuable insight from basketball experts. Either way, it goes beyond Perkins. Stephen A. Smith isn't there to deeply discuss things either.
We'll see what SGA can bring. We'll see how Haliburton responds. But leave the legacy questions for when they matter.