"ESPN pays this man $1.5M/yr to spout bulls**t on national TV": Fans erupt as ex-NBA champ makes unexpected case for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as DPOY

While Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is currently the betting favorite to win the NBA's MVP award this season, Kendrick Perkins believes he should also be the Defensive Player of the Year.

During Wednesday's "NBA Today" on ESPN, Perkins questioned why Gilgeous-Alexander isn't more in the conversation regarding winning the DPOY award.

Gilgeous-Alexander is sixth in DPOY odds, behind Evan Mobley, Draymond Green, Dyson Daniels, Jaren Jackson Jr, and Lu Dort. Considering Gilgeous-Alexander's stats, Perkins believes he deserves more consideration for the DPOY award.

"Why is it leaning towards the big wings or big men?," Perkins said. "The Oklahoma City Thunder has the best defensive team in the NBA right? They have the MVP in SGA. ... Why isn't he in the Defensive Player of the Year conversation?

"He's top 20 for his opponent's field goal percentage at his position. At the guard, for his blocked shots, he's top five. He's No. 2 in steals. Their team leads every category defensively they're No. 1. Why is he not in that conversation?"

While Perkins provided stats to support his claim, the NBA community seemingly wasn't feeling his assessment. In response, fans were quick to criticize him on X:

"ESPN really pays this man $1.5M/yr to spout off bulls**t on national TV. What are we doin here," one fan wrote.

"I used to believe we needed more ex players analyzing the game. I was wrong," another fan said.

"Theres no way he is being serious man………. he not even a top 3 defender on his team," a fan tweeted.

Plenty of other fans kept the criticism coming:

"The fact he said this shi with a straight face is crazy to me, lol," one fan posted.

"He's not even the best defensive player on his team lol. Half the Thunder starting lineup could be in the DPOY conversation," another fan commented.

Kendrick Perkins believes Shai Gilgeous-Alexander deserves DPOY consideration, but Draymond Green thinks he should be in the running

Although Evan Mobley is the betting favorite to win the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year award, Draymond Green isn't far behind. On FanDuel, Mobley is a -270 favorite, while Green sits comfortably in second as a +500 underdog, ahead of third-placed Dyson Daniels with +1000 odds.

While Green and the Golden State Warriors may not be as good of a team defensively as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the OKC Thunder, he believes that given his play, if Golden State keeps the momentum going, he'll be right in the mix for the DPOY award.

Following a win over Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks this week, which came amid Steph Curry's absence, he made his case while speaking with members of the press post-game:

"Obviously, if we keep winning and close this year out strong, most definitely," Green said. "I look around the league and don't see many players impacting the game on the defensive end the way I do. I don't see many players completely throwing off an entire team's offense the way I do. One thousand percent.

"Especially with Wemby going down, seemed like he had it won. And now it is right there. So 1 million percent I have a case, and I will continue to build that case for these next 13 games. Tonight was a prime example of that."

Since acquiring Jimmy Butler, the Warriors have been on an absolute tear, winning eight of their last 10 and 15 of the 17 games where Butler plays. With their stellar play, the team has climbed to eighth in the Western Conference, where they sit 16.5 games behind Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder.