Kendrick Perkins drops a bombshell about LeBron James’ health

On Thursday, the Los Angeles Lakers suffered a devastating loss, their 4th in their last 5 games, against the Chicago Bulls when Josh Giddey’s half-court shot downed the Lake Show 119-117. In addition to the defensive issues that now plague the Lakers, one of those, according to Kendrick Perkins, is the health of LeBron James.

The ESPN personality and former NBA player said on First Take that James was not healthy, estimating his status at "70-75%."

“And here's the most important thing- LeBron James is not healthy. I think he's probably about 70-75 percent."

On March 8, LeBron left the team’s game against the Celtics with a groin strain, sidelining him for two weeks. He returned on March 22 against Bulls, who defeated the Lakers 146-115. Perkins suggested James may not be fully healthy, which could explain his subpar performance. Since his return, James has averaged 18.0 points on 40% shooting, including 0-for-11 from three, with the Lakers going 1-2 in those games. The lone win came against the Pacers, where he tipped in the game-winner.

Kendrick Perkins blasts LeBron James: “Everything that comes out of his mouth ain’t the damn gospel”

The back-and-forth between basketball star LeBron James and ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith has divided fans and media into LeBron and Stephen A. camps. Surprisingly, Kendrick Perkins, a known long-time supporter of James, has been critical of him at times. This has not gone unnoticed by the Lakers' superstar, who unfollowed the ESPN personality on social media last year, prompting Perkins to label James “sensitive.”

Perkins emphatically responded to comments from James in which he cast coverage of the league as negative, saying that he “was sick of LeBron” and implying that James’ real problem with the coverage of the league was self-serving, adding “he wanted to be covered a certain way.”

Perkins added,

“I have known LeBron since 1998. The problem that I have is, one, everything that comes out LeBron’s mouth ain’t the damn gospel. Number two, we are in 2025. It’s a different era. Dammit, you have to adjust.”

While LeBron has seemingly shown no hesitation when lashing out at Stephen A. Smith, Brain Windhordst, or even Doug Gottlieb, he has yet to respond to Kendrick Perkins.