"Kendrick Perkins needs to be drug tested" - NBA fans ridicule ex-champ over taking credit for leading OKC Thunder's Big 3 with KD, Russ & Harden

Fans mocked former NBA player Kendrick Perkins after claiming that he was the true leader of the OKC Thunder. On Thursday, a quote from Perkins went viral on X (formerly Twitter). In the post, the 2008 champion said he was the real leader of the Thunder when he played for the team with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden.

After almost eight seasons with the Boston Celtics, Perkins was traded to the Thunder during the 2010-11 season. The deal turned out to be smart, as his experience helped the young team make it to the NBA finals the following season.

Although they didn't beat the Miami Heat, a team with a "big three" of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, their team still had a solid chance of contending. Nonetheless, it has frequently been questioned who the team's true leader was.

According to Perk's recent claims, he was the real leader of that OKC group, and not Durant nor Harden.

“It doesn’t mean your best player is your leader. When I was with the Thunder, it wasn’t KD, it wasn’t Russ, it wasn’t James, I was the one leading,” Perk said.

After fans found out what the 14-year player said, they didn't hold back and ridiculed him on the social media site.

"Kendrick Perkins needs to be drug tested," a fan said.

"Not a soul believes this," another fan commented.

"Maybe that’s why they didn’t win the title together," a fan posted.

Other fans had to point out who they thought the team's real leader was.

"Leaders lead by example…. KD and Russ set those examples daily on the court," a fan said.

"Russ wasn't leading? 😆" another fan said.

"He was the vet on the team frl frl. But at the end of the day that was KD team." a fan commented.

Who were the top performers for the OKC Thunder in 2012?

The 2012 OKC Thunder were a young team that took on the challenge of playing against the best team in the East, and arguably the league, at that time. Scoring-wise, Kevin Durant led the team with 28.0 ppg on 49.6% shooting. KD was also the team's rebounding leader (8.0 rpg).

When it came to getting the entire team involved in the offense, Russel Westbrook was the top performer with 5.5 assists. A season later, he would double down on his passing and raise his average to 7.4.

The team's 3-point leader was Thabo Sefolosha. The 6-foot-7 wingman knocked down 43.7% of his attempts from deep and was the lone player in the team who shot at least 40%. James Harden was the second-best 3-pointer on the team (39%).