LeBron James' ex-teammate drops receipts to refute Kendrick Perkins' claims about Lakers star's podcast collab with JJ Redick

LeBron James' former teammate, Richard Jefferson, came to his defense on X on Thursday. Jefferson defended the four-time NBA champion after Kendrick Perkins, who also used to play with him, brought him up in the latest episode of ESPN's "First Take."

Perkins has an issue with James' decision to have NBA legend Steve Nash as his new co-host on his show. According to him, the four-time MVP has always been surrounded by intelligent players like Jefferson, Channing Frye, Phil Handy and Draymond Green.

However, he doesn't understand why James opted to do his program with Nash and his coach, JJ Redick.

"What I'm getting at is, why none of those guys, LeBron?" Perkins said. "These are your guys, why not one of those guys on 'Mind The Game?'"

His ESPN colleague didn't seem to agree with his take. Jefferson mentioned that the four-time finals MVP has been on "Road Trippin'" a few times. The podcast is hosted by himself and Frye, James' former teammates with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

"Bron been on @RoadTrippinPod so many times 😂😂🙄," Jefferson tweeted.

James was a hot topic on the ESPN program due to his ongoing feud with analyst Stephen A. Smith. Perkins brought him up because he found fault in his recent decision to continue his podcast, "Mind The Game."

On Wednesday, he confirmed during his appearance at "The Pat McAfee Show" that season two of a much-beloved show is set to come. In the first season, he did the podcast with Redick. However, because the LA Lakers hired him, he shifted his focus to being the team's head tactician.

For the next season of James' podcast, he'll be joined by Nash. The two-time MVP is considered one of the most intelligent players of his time. After his playing career, he coached the Brooklyn Nets for two seasons.

Why did LeBron James continue his podcast?

After the LA Lakers hired JJ Redick, fans wondered how his show with LeBron James will continue. For a while, the answer was that the program wouldn't progress with just the superstar. However, before the end of the 2024-25 season, the league's all-time leading scorer confirmed that the podcast will be back on Tuesday with Steve Nash.

Now, what was James' reason for bringing back the show with a new co-host? In his recent guest appearance at Pat McAfee's show, the All-Star discussed why "Mind The Game" will return.

"This is how we grew up loving the game," James said. "This is what brought us together. This is what the essence of the game should be taught to, to not only the generation that's playing now, but the generation that's gonna come up after us."

The new material from James and Nash, who will discuss the game of basketball in length, has fans thrilled.