Kevin Durant dominated with the Thunder for eight seasons. For five of those years, Kendrick Perkins was also there. But the camaraderie they developed as teammates didn't stop them from scrapping on Twitter.
The Nets superstar put his lengthy Achilles rehab and varied business interests aside to defend himself from perceived insults from his former teammate.
The beef started when Perkins, announced on his account that he would appear on SportsCenter to share why he believes their former co-star, Russell Westbrook, was the greatest Thunder player ever.
Durant appeared to be name-searching. When a second-round playoff loss came up, Durant jumped into an argument between Perkins and a Celtics writer.
"Yea and our starting center @KendrickPerkins averaged a whopping 2 and 3 during that series," referring to Perkins' complete absence on offense. "U played hard tho champ lol."
Perkins responded by reminding him of "the weakest move in NBA History!!": leaving OKC to join the star-laden Warriors after losing to them in the Western Conference Finals.
KD recycled the same jokes about Perkins being a limited offensive player. "Weak is starting at center, playing real minutes with no production. Should've worked on your skills as much as I did."
Perk shrugged it off, "That's fine!!! You worked that hard and still had to go join a 73-9 team."
Durant has never really stopped engaging with social media critics since deciding to leave the Thunder for the Warriors. Since tearing his Achilles and signing with the Nets, he's had plenty of free time to spend online. Some of his posts have been relatable _ "I come here for this action" _ while others have shown deep insecurities.
As for Perkins, he may not have developed a jumper during his 16 seasons in the NBA, but his last shot didn't miss: "Truth be told you don't even feel like a real Champ, you have hard time sleeping at night huh knowing that you took the coward way out!!!"
