Kendrick Perkins DOUBLES DOWN on SGA being the GREATEST Thunder player ever if they win it all 👀

Kendrick Perkins DOUBLES DOWN on SGA being the GREATEST Thunder player ever if they win it all 👀

you know it took a lot a lot for us to get to this point if they can build it we can race it luckily we got it done and it is over in Memphis it’s a thunder avalanche and we’re better now than we were at the beginning of the series they pushed us to the limit together we stay and all y’all balling with call it Ball the Young Thunder have won the West and they’re heading to the NBA finals oklahoma City is finals bound for the first time in 13 years so let’s just remind everybody how the Thunder have rolled to get there we’re going to start Chennai in the first round here the Thunder making quick work of the Grizzlies yeah they absolutely did you know what we know is that this Grizzlies team likes to run too but they sort of met their maker a little bit in this series but also the health of Don Morant dictated as well yeah Don Morant he left with an injury they would mount a 29point comeback in this game they trailed by 27 when John Morant went down with that injury and it was just all thunder all the way back and they would go on to win that series going ahead here to the conference semifinals now this would be the Denver Nuggets and this was their toughest test oh absolutely you had the goal of slowing down the best player in the world and Nicola Joic and they did exactly that they made him work on every possession yeah he had multiple 40point double doubles including 44 and 22 in game one and then of course you had the heroics of Aaron Gordon what a series man gamewinners in the series before and then this one I was like “Oh is this where experience wins?” Aaron Gordon once again he was such a differencemaker for the Nuggets in this series and of course you would famously SGA leading the court smiling everyone would wonder why well that’s because they had some confidence they would go on to win in seven games including a 32point blowout in that game seven so then to the conference finals we go they kept that momentum going against the Timberwolves they cruised to a two- lead the Thunder were tested on the road getting blown out in game three and then they survived a nailbiter in game four they would go on to win game five by 30 their NBA record fourth win by 30 or more this postseason and of course Shay Gildus Alexander was named the Western Conference Finals MVP he averaged 318 and five rebounds and we knew that SGA he was going to be dominant going into these playoffs but there were some questions for Jaylen Williams and he answered the call the all-star duo just the fifth pair of teammates to average 25 and five assists entering the NBA finals in NBA history with the last three all eventually going on to win the title and if OKC brings home the trophy Shay’s going to join maybe the most exclusive club in NBA history only three players have ever won the scoring title MVP and NBA championship in the same season shaquille O’Neal in 2000 Michael Jordan four times and then Kareem Doljabar then Lou Alsynor but Kendrick Perkins how would you view SGA if he’s able to finish off this historic run two things number one he will be the greatest Thunder ever ever yes pass Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook third consecutive season of averaging over 30 shooting over 50% from the field scoring title MVP conference MVP going to the NBA finals winning the championship and he’s going to win finals MVP secondly he would get his superstar jacket and sit at the table with LeBron James Joic Steph KD and Giannis enter in that room of being a legit superstar because he has checked all the boxes and it was nothing else for him to do but add to his legacy so those are the two things if SGA or when SGA close the deal and bring a championship back to OKC he will be the greatest thunder ever and he will join the room or sit at the table shall I say with those superstars and get a superstar jacket a superstar jacket i don’t think I can just go on Gap online and order one of those can I if I if I can then maybe we we should be doing that but the thing about this Thunder team somehow someway SGA’s offensive dominance it may not be the most impressive part it might be their defense i want you to look at this because through the conference finals the Thunder have the best turnover differential by a team in a single postseason since the merger i mean this is great company now if you don’t believe me or these amazing numbers maybe you’ll believe this Allstars words we were just a step slow at all those things um which kind of gave them you know they had one string yeah they were they were like on one string defensively they had a team cup is one string so this is how the Thunder slowed down the Ant-Man and moved on to the NBA finals defensive plays like this here you’re going to see Alex Cruso has really captain their defense he’s a Swiss Army knight defensively he’s guarding Rudy to go it does not ma matter he hides behind the screen goes this way and this is why everyone calls this team the most unselfish team in basketball plays like this look at the MVP saying thanks broke from what you did defensively to me offensively now again Caruso has a great communication saying “Hey Hartinstein go cleanse Strong side so he can set send help because the scouting report says Nas Reed is going to turn and he’s right there on time ready to also receive the outlet.” But last but not least I love this play because they know how to load up to the basketball they guarded almost 100% of Ants drives this is the load up this is a zone shay is still able to go out there and close out and watch he makes the read on the cut goes the other way and this is where we saw a little bit of cousin on cousin crying because there’s the dog hey bro i thought he was going to go and be like “Oh are you good no no no no he has business to hold down through nine games in Oklahoma the Thunder have the best playoff scoring differential at home of any team entering the finals in NBA history they’ve outscored opponents by 24.6 points a game the next three closest teams they all were eventually crowned champion and Wendy you’ve covered the finals for decades now can you just put into context this kind of dominance from OKC i’m not calling you old I promise first off their 80 wins in 18 losses in 98 games this year and by the way whoever wins the East I’d like to unfortunately remind you that they were 29-1 against the East but their defense here’s all you need to know they start two all defensive players in Lou Dort and Jaylen Williams okay that’s their starting unit then they come to the bench and they bring off the bench Alex Caruso and Kase Wallace i would submit that that tsum as your lead two off the bench is the best tusome of defenders coming off the bench for any team in the last several generations maybe you bring one elite defender off the bench you bring two and I’ll also tell you that Chad Homegrren if he hadn’t injured his hip and missed enough games where he didn’t qualify he would have been probably all defense too so they’re running three or four or five alldefensive players out there ask the Timberwolves how that felt yeah we haven’t seen a Thunder team dominate like this in quite some time but the question is is it the best OKC seed squad ever that was a question that was posed to Kevin Durant actually online who wins in a best of seven series 2012 OKC or this Oklahoma team he didn’t give a direct answer but he did say quote “They are historically great great shooting all across the board efficient go-to scorer size athleticism all across the board versatility shooting big bruiser big great coaching just flat out perfectly crafted.” That’s high praise from one of the greatest to ever play perk KD didn’t quite make a pick but you know I’m going to make you make one who Who you got here i got this year’s Thunder team 2025 and it’s no knock to ours in 2012 but like a Wendy like Wendy just alluded to they’re depth right you talk about bringing in a Case Wallace Alex Caruso guys who going to get into you defensively and all of a sudden you have a guy like Jaylen Williams who’s not afraid to mix it up who who was crucial for them in that Denver Nugget series against Jokic they they’re just too deep right we’re talking about one of the greatest defensive teams in NBA history now it’s no knock when it comes down to what Russ or KD or James brought to the table or even Sergy Baka but this team is just more polished and they just have more like they have more adults in the room that just have old souls like they act like they’ve been there before and that’s the scary part and that’s why I give them the edge but it will go seven games oh it will go seven games though he had to make sure he rep for his squad in that way they’re still waiting to see who their opponent is going to be in these NBA finals you got home court malikica the Oklahoma City Thunder let’s get back to the East the Pacers have two games to win one but as Michael Malone so aptly put it on NBA Countdown that cannot be the minds that you have we have one to win one we need to go in and get this one they’ve won a game seven at Madison Square Garden before but is it fair Brian to call tomorrow’s game six must win for Indianapolis it’s not must-win but man they do not want that heat i will say since January 1st this team has won 70% of its games they’re 11 and4 in the playoffs they’ve closed out four series over the last two years this is definitely a new feeling for them but this shouldn’t be something that they can’t handle they have to get to their game whoever gets to their game is going to win this one if it’s the Pacers they’re going to the finals if it’s the Knicks they’re going to game seven i think the pressure is starting to mount though it’s going to feel a whole lot different if you have to return for a game seven to Madison Square Garden uh so Kendrick Liddell Perkins in this game six who you rocking with i’m going with the Pacers the Pacers this is their game seven if they don’t win this game six they’re losing the series because they’re not going to win in Madison Square Garden in on Big Body Bronson turf i just don’t see it happening they have no reason not to win game six i believe that it’s going to be better pascal Seakum looked pissed off in his postgame interview i think Miles Turner is going to come to life the others are going to step up i think game six the Pacers are going to take it home jan Joy Gum hey what do you got look I do think they need to have the Pacers a must-win mentality so I have the Pacers in this one but I know a lot of people were saying okay we were talking about star power and stardom superstardom and tire it is a series for a reason now we have the opportunity to see how he responds because I think he’s learning also on the fly as a young star in the NBA now he’s at home in a very friendly environment a place where he’s made some great memories already how is he going to respond to a lot of people saying “All right we were crowning you as one of these amazing future faces of the league now what can you do with this moment?” This is a star making moment so I think he’s going to meet the moment i picked Pacers and six going into the series so I’m gonna roll with the Pacers in this game six thank you um Oh that means we we all this all this means that we have cursed Indiana who would the Thunder rather see do you think i think they’d rather see the Knicks because Indiana has too much depth they play fast they have a great coach that’s strategizing so I think they’d rather see the Knicks but you never know yeah I I I think I agree with you on this one indiana has posed problems for so many teams they didn’t see it coming necessarily indiana though they need to get this game six brian I kind of disagree with you i think this is as close to a must-win situation as they’ve been in in a very long time because they’ve been cruising through these first couple of rounds all right that’s going to do it for NBA today enjoy your weekend friends we will see you right here on Monday and we will know what happened in this game now you can see stuff okay

Kendrick Perkins joins Malika Andrews on NBA Today to discuss what Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s legacy if the Oklahoma City Thunder move on to win the 2025 NBA Championship. Then, Chiney Ogwumike and Brian Windhorst reflect on OKC’s playoff run up until the Finals.

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