What did Kendrick Perkins think of the Indiana Pacers fans who mocked him and Stephen A. Smith? On the latest Road Trippin’ Show, Perkins shared his feelings.
During Game 4 of the NBA Finals, a pair of Pacers fans seated courtside were wearing orange and blue suits, similar to the ones worn by Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels’ characters in the movie, Dumb and Dumber. The fans were also sporting facial cutouts of Perkins and Smith. At the time, it didn’t seem to bother Perkins. While cameras seemed to do their best to avoid showing (or at least focusing too closely) on the fans, Perkins said he wished they got more screen time and thanked them for watching.
But on the Road Trippin’ Show, Perkins said he actually bumped into those fans. And while telling the story, he seemed more annoyed than he initially let on.
“I saw those f**king clowns when I was walking through the tunnel,” Perkins said. “As I was coming down to go on the court to do a SportsCenter hit, they were walking out the tunnel. And it was like they saw a f**king ghost. Like, they was like, ‘Oh, sh*t.’ It was like, ‘Yeah, motherf**ker. Y’all just think this sh*t’s so cool. F**king clowns. They was like, ‘Nah Perk, we were’ and I was like, ‘Nah, you good.’ I wasn’t in my feelings. But I was like, ‘Dumb and Dumber, because I picked OKC to win the series?’ Like, that makes me part of the Dumb and Dumber Crew?”
“People are never 🤬 satisfied” – @KendrickPerkins pic.twitter.com/49ne6RhTTG
— Road Trippin’ Show🎧 (@RoadTrippinPod) June 20, 2025
Perkins continued, feeling that it’s part of a greater frustration with basketball fans.
“You know what? It’s like people are never, people are never f**king satisfied, right? Think about this. We all played at a high level. We can sit up here and tell y’all f**kers life experiences, things that we went through, what it takes to f**king win at a high level. And you say, ‘Oh, this motherf**ker don’t know basketball.’ No, motherf**ker, you don’t know basketball,” he said.
There are a few things to look at here.
It’s understandable for Perkins to feel frustrated that people who never played basketball at a high level would say that he doesn’t understand the game. But if that’s the case, wouldn’t the same logic apply to other walks of life? Are politicians the only people suited to talk about political matters? Do we have to have experience in the kitchen to say whether a restaurant is good? Is working in Hollywood a prerequisite to commenting on movies?
Even overlooking that, as FS1’s Nick Wright recently pointed out, some of the most outlandish takes on basketball have come from former NBA players. Of course, we’ve also seen Perkins get into other NBA players, including some of the greatest players in the history of the league. So, while an outspoken person who didn’t play in the NBA is saying that Perkins doesn’t know basketball may be wrong, there’s also a reasonable chance that take is supported by another NBA player.
As has been discussed throughout the NBA Finals, the ESPN/ABC presentation has left a lot to be desired. Perkins and his fellow analysts are rarely given much time to offer any significant insight. When the analysts have been given time, the commentary they’ve offered has often not been about the Finals. When the commentary has been about basketball, it’s often been inconsistent. During this postseason, both Smith and Perkins have criticized Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton for playing hurt and criticized Darius Garland for not.
If Perkins is annoyed that he was “Dumb and Dumber,” we get it. But the reasoning for that wasn’t simply for picking the Thunder to win the series.