"Kendrick Perkins insinuating LeBron James is racist" - NBA fans react as ex-champ questions Lakers star’s podcast move with JJ Redick

This week, LeBron James announced that he's reviving his "Mind The Game" podcast, which was previously hosted by him and JJ Redick. Once Redick accepted the LA Lakers' coaching job, however, he announced that he was walking away from "Mind The Game" and "The Old Man & The Three."

Given that Redick is done with podcasting, LeBron James is reviving the show with Hall of Famer Steve Nash, who had a brief coaching stint himself from 2020-2022.

Former NBA vet turned ESPN personality Kendrick Perkins, however, can't seem to wrap his mind around the fact that James isn't doing the show with former players like Richard Jefferson or Channing Frye.

During Thursday's installment of ESPN's "First Take," Perkins questioned the choice of James' co-host.

"Richard Jefferson just got hired on our A team to cover the NBA Finals. He's smart as hell. Channing Frye, who won the championship with LeBron James, who does NBA TV. He's intelligent as hell. Phil Handy, who LeBron James won two championships with, who's now doing his own thing. He's intelligent as hell.

"Hell, Draymond Green. I know Draymond Green ruffled the feathers, but no one could ever question his basketball mind or his basketball IQ. He's smart as hell. So what I'm getting at is, why none of those guys LeBron? These are your guys."

Part of the NBA community was unhappy with the comments, with fans wasting no time before calling Perkins out:

"Kendrick Perkins insinuating LeBron is racist when he has done more for his community than any other NBA player other than Curry," - One fan replied.

"So now lebron a racist too? lol. Bad father, not the GOAT, and now a racist," - Another added.

Others kept the criticism for Perkins coming:

"Pulling the race card for no reason, this really the worst show on TV," - One wrote.

"Kendrick Perkins trying to create more division between retired NBA players is disgusting. SELL OUT DIVA," - Another added

"He needs to stop" - Kendrick Perkins lays on the criticism after LeBron James' appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show"

During the All-Star weekend in San Francisco, LeBron James made some comments about the media coverage of the NBA in response to Anthony Edwards saying that he didn't want to be the face of the league.

At the time, James said that he understood why Edwards didn't want to be the face of the league, given that the people who cover the sport are openly critical of the NBA and its star players.

During his appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show," which aired on Wednesday, LeBron James said that the reason he and JJ Redick started their "Mind The Game" podcast was because the media coverage surrounding the NBA had gotten away from the essence of basketball.

Given that, he and Redick wanted to provide a platform that would discuss the X's and O's of the game.

The way Kendrick Perkins sees things, however, James is being hypocritical. During Thursday's episode of "First Take," he spoke about the situation, aiming at James:

"He needs to stop. LeBron James needs to stop. I’m so sick of him with, ‘Oh, how the league is covered,’ because he wanted to be covered in a certain way that he wants it to be covered."

"We’re in 2025, it’s a different era. Dammit, you have to adjust. But here’s the thing, the coverage of the NBA, in my opinion, has been the same since I’ve arrived in the NBA."

While LeBron James took another jab at Stephen A. Smith on Instagram following his appearance with Pat McAfee, he hasn't responded to Perkins yet.