LeBron James may have been aiming to generate buzz for Season 2 of his Mind The Game podcast, but the rollout has sparked more backlash than excitement. The controversy took off after it was revealed that two-time MVP Steve Nash would step in as co-host, replacing JJ Redick. Kendrick Perkins, never one to hold back, quickly turned that announcement into a scorching critique of the Lakers star—live on air, per SI.
“LeBron James needs to stop,” Perkins said Thursday morning on ESPN. “I’m so sick of him with this ‘oh how the league is covered’ because he wanted to be covered a certain way.” That was just the beginning. Perkins, a former Cavaliers teammate of LeBron's, accused James of acting like his every word should be treated as gospel and took offense at James seemingly shading colleagues Brian Windhorst and Stephen A. Smith, who had just been wrapped in their own headlines.
Kendrick Perkins doesn’t understand why LeBron chose not to do the Mind of the Game podcast with guys like Richard Jefferson, Channing Frye, Phil Handy, or Draymond Green, and instead chose to do it with Steve Nash and JJ Redick 🤔
(🎥 @FirstTake )
pic.twitter.com/crxe2AWM4R
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) March 27, 2025
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But Perkins didn’t stop at defending the media. He zeroed in on the Steve Nash hire, saying Nash’s basketball IQ wasn’t the problem—but the optics were. “Richard Jefferson just got hired on our A-Team. Channing Frye is intelligent as hell. Phil Handy, who won two championships with LeBron. Hell, Draymond Green—say what you want, but nobody questions his mind.” All those names have one thing in common, and Perkins made sure viewers noticed. Though he never explicitly stated it, his comparison list painted a stark picture.
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Underneath the surface, a deeper tension
Perkins’ commentary raised eyebrows not just for who he suggested, but for who he didn’t. The unspoken implication—questioning why LeBron would twice in a row select white co-hosts over the many Black voices in his own circle—sent social media into a frenzy. While Perkins avoided overtly stating the racial angle, the insinuation was clear enough for fans and critics alike to draw conclusions.
This latest clash deepens the tension between LeBron and ESPN’s personalities, especially with Kendrick Perkins joining the fray just days after Stephen A. Smith was called out for fabricating a story about LeBron James. As the back-and-forth spirals, the original focus of Mind The Game—breaking down the game of basketball—gets further lost in the noise.
a]:text-link [&_>a]:underline">Burtland Dixon is an entertainment, celebrity, and music journalist for ClutchPoints. He has a degree from Cal State San Marcos, and he's demonstrated his pop culture expertise for years with bylines at Idolator, Trend Chaser, and Buzznet.