Anthony Edwards did not have a performance befitting a superstar in the Minnesota Timberwolves' Game 4 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night. Edwards scored just 16 points on 13 field goal attempts in the two-point loss. While ESPN's Kendrick Perkins doesn't put the loss on Edwards because he doesn't feel he struggled, he does think there's a reason he's not ready to be the face of the league—he's not a family man.
Perkins backed up that rather wild claim by pointing out that many of the former faces of the league like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson and a few other current and future Hall of Famers were all family men when they were at the top of their games.
Here's the clip from First Take:
"You gotta check the boxes when you’re the face of the league…Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Shaq, LeBron, Steph…they all were family men. They all were married with kids." - Kendrick Perkins on Anthony Edwards pic.twitter.com/U8zFUZaYX2
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 27, 2025
"There's a bigger picture, right," said Perkins. "You gotta check the boxes when you’re the face of the league. Yes, we know you gotta have your signature shoe. You're gonna be in commercials. You gonna have the highlights. You gotta have the game. But you know what else you gotta have? You gotta be a role model. And things outside the lines matter."
"Now, if you go down the list of all the faces of the league in the history of the game," Perkins continued. "You look at Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Shaq, LeBron, Steph. What did they all have in common? While they was playing in the league they all were family men. They all were married. With kids. And if you think that don't play a role as far as the role model. This is facts. This is not something that I'm—hold up. This is not something that I'm making up. Now what happened to them after they retired, that's their business. But while they are playing or was playing, they were family men. Married with kids."
Without getting into any rumors or stories about any of the legendary players who were specifically mentioned by Perkins, or anything that happened after they retired, a few "facts" that he mentioned that are definitely not facts.
Larry Bird was married and divorced by the time he was drafted by the Boston Celtics in 1978. He got married again in 1989 after he had already won all three of all three of his NBA championships and three MVP awards. Magic Johnson did not get married until 1991 after his initial retirement. Shaquille O'Neal did not get married until December 2002, after he'd already won his first three titles and an MVP.
If you'd like to do anymore research one any of the family men Perkins mentioned, you have the Internet at your disposal.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Kendrick Perkins Had Laughably Bad Take on NBA Stars Needing to Have Families.
