Kendrick Perkins doesn't mince words, tips $3,650,000,000 franchise to win the West: "I feel sorry for your loss"

Former NBA player and current ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins has already picked the team that will come out of the Western Conference. Perkins didn't mince his words when he predicted his former team, the OKC Thunder, as the West's representatives in the 2025 NBA Finals.

On ESPN's NBA Countdown, Perkins told his co-hosts Malika Andrews, Brian Windhorst and Stephen A. Smith that the Thunder will win the West. He explained that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was going to carry the $3.65 billion franchise in any seven-game series in the postseason.

"Whoever don't feel OKC, I feel sorry for your loss, 'cause they're going to the NBA Finals," Perkins said.

"This team checked all the boxes. They have SGA, a bonafide superstar, who could be the best player in any seven-game series against any other player in the league. They strap a defensively, they are the No.1 defensive team in the league."

Kendrick Perkins also pointed out the raucous crowd in Oklahoma City. But Stephen A. Smith argued that those same fans were missing when the Thunder lost to the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference semifinals.

Perkins clapped back and explained that the Thunder had to go through the experience of losing in the playoffs to be better. He even used the Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden-led Thunder teams of the early 2010s as an example.

"Remember the young Oklahoma City Thunder team with KD, Serge (Ibaka) and James Harden?" Perkins said. "They lost to the Lakers, right? They had to learn through playoff experience. ... You're learning, they know. They know!"

The OKC Thunder are atop the Western Conference and are slightly behind the Cleveland Cavaliers for the best record in the NBA.

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Kendrick Perkins takes shot at Cavaliers, says respect is earned

Kendrick Perkins takes shot at Cavaliers, says respect is earned. (Photo: IMAGN)

While Kendrick Perkins is picking the OKC Thunder in the West, he's not sold on the Cleveland Cavaliers on the other side of the NBA. Perkins, who played for both franchises, took a shot at the Cavs despite them having the best record in the league.

The one-time NBA champion explained that respect is earned, while pointing out that Donovan Mitchell has never led a team to a conference final.

"They haven't earned respect, and name me a time when a Donovan Mitchell-led team has reached the NBA Finals or the Conference Finals," Perkins said.

"The month of Neveruary. It’s never happened. ... Respect is earned, not given. I get that they have the best record. They have to go out and prove it."

The Cavs and Thunder have the two best records in the NBA, but the playoffs is a different monster. The Boston Celtics are the defending champions, while the Denver Nuggets have looked fantastic in the past two months.