Kendrick Perkins was ready for the smoke.
During Monday’s installment of “First Take,” Stephen A. Smith and ESPN NBA analyst JJ Redick roasted Perkins after they claimed he was “moaning” into his microphone.
Redick was first to call out Perkins and paused a debate they were having about the NBA Finals series between the Nuggets and Heat.
“Perk, is that you moaning in my ear over and over again?” Redick asked, while appearing to adjust his ear piece.
“Yeah I know, I was getting ready to ask that,” Smith chimed in. “You sound like you have sleep apnea, Perk. Are you alright?”
That’s when Redick also expressed his concern.
“Oh my God. Are you ok?” he said.
“It’s a gross noise man. It’s a gross noise.”
Perkins owned the moment and didn’t back down.
“Yeah that’s me,” he said.
“It’s not groaning, it’s me being disgusted.”
JJ Redick on ESPN’s “First Take” on June 5, 2023. YouTube/ESPN
Stephen A. Smith and Kendrick Perkins on ESPN’s “First Take” on June 5, 2023. YouTube/ESPNSmith went on to repeatedly say Perkins was “very disrespectful.”
“You don’t have to sound like you got sleep apnea on live television,” the host said again, referencing the potentially severe sleep disorder that effects breathing. “You can disguise it a little bit. I mean, that’s very disrespectful.”
Meanwhile, Perkins was a good sport.
“Hey look, I came on here already knowing… that the peanut gallery was going to be against big Perk anyway. I came on here ready for the smoke,” he said. “So that’s fine. You and JJ can team up… I’m sitting right here. I’m not going nowhere.”
Kendrick Perkins on ESPN’s “First Take” on June 5, 2023. YouTube/ESPN During another debate later in the show, Redick brought up the breathing situation again.
“In the beginning of the show Perk was incessantly groaning in my ear,” Redick said, while the group shared a laugh.
Smith has previously called out Perkins for his heavy breathing on the mic, and it’s been a playful, reoccurring subject on the show.
The Miami Heat beat the Denver Nuggets 111-108 in Game 2 on Sunday night, after being down by as many as 15 points.
The 2023 NBA Finals continue on Wednesday with Game 3 in Miami.
