The LeBron vs. Jordan debate isn’t just for fans—it has real consequences. Kendrick Perkins revealed that since he started calling LeBron the GOAT, his ties with Michael Jordan soured. Perkins, who once had a Jordan Brand deal, said the perks vanished after his bold take. “I was with Jordan for two years… I’d get J’s before release,” he recalled. “Then I called LeBron the GOAT, and the boxes stopped,” said Big Perk in contrast to Stephen A. Smith’s opinion of MJ being the GOAT.

It was a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse at the power dynamics surrounding the debate, but what followed next took things to another level. While Perkins’ story highlighted the lingering tensions over LeBron vs. MJ, he quickly shifted gears—taking direct aim at LeBron himself. During an ESPN segment on Thursday morning, Perkins ripped into the Lakers star’s ongoing complaints about how the league is covered.

“LeBron James needs to stop. He needs to stop!“ Perkins fired off, clearly over it. “I’m so sick of him with this ‘oh how the league is covered’ because he wanted to be covered a certain way… Everything that comes out of LeBron James’ mouth ain’t the d*** gospel.“.

While Stephen A. Smith has also been vocal about his issues with LeBron’s perceived media influence, the response to Perkins’ rant wasn’t what he expected. ESPN’s own analysts started pushing back against him—openly siding with LeBron. Jay Williams was the first to counter the criticism.

Not just on live TV—it’s spilling onto social media, too. In a now-deleted tweet, he clapped back at the narrative, writing, “Players today are NOT less sensitive than the players back in the 90s. All players have fought back against false narratives. Stop the cap.”

To reinforce his point, he posted a clip of Michael Jordan himself, visibly frustrated with media narratives attacking his personal life. “It’s a attack in my private life, and I really didn’t like it. I don’t don’t agree with it, but I felt I need to come out and express that until the truth…. For my standpoint, anything else that you hear is totally false if it’s not to what I just told you. And that’s, that’s the honest truth. That’s all I can tell you,” MJ could be heard saying.

Williams’ message was clear: If MJ had issues with the media, why should LeBron be treated any differently? But the pushback didn’t end there.

But Perkins wasn’t done stirring the pot. Shifting gears, he took aim at LeBron’s latest project—his podcast Mind The Game. Perkins questioned why James, despite having a long history with high-IQ basketball minds like Channing Frye, Phil Handy, Draymond Green, and Richard Jefferson, chose Steve Nash as his co-host instead.

“I would never question Steve Nash’s IQ or intelligence,” Perkins said. “But Richard Jefferson just got hired to our A-team to cover the NBA Finals. He’s smart as hell. Channing Frye won a championship with LeBron. Phil Handy helped him win two. Draymond Green? Say what you want, but you can’t question his basketball mind. So why none of those guys, LeBron? These are your guys. Why none of those guys on Mind The Game?”

That’s when Jefferson jumped in, calling out Perkins’ take and reminding him that LeBron has made plenty of appearances on Road Trippin’, the podcast Jefferson co-hosts with Frye on X. It wasn’t a case of LeBron overlooking his former teammates—it was simply a different platform with a different focus.

With Williams and Jefferson both disputing Perkins’ claims, the divide at ESPN was becoming more obvious. With multiple ESPN analysts openly siding with LeBron, the battle lines are drawn. What started as just another LeBron vs. Stephen A. clash has now turned into a full-on rift inside ESPN, where even the network’s own personalities can’t seem to agree on how to cover the four-time champ.

But while the drama inside the network played out, LeBron had other matters to address—like throwing subtle shots at the Dallas Mavericks over their handling of Luka Doncic’s departure.

LeBron James calls out the Mavs over the Luka Doncic trade

The 4x Champion didn’t mince words when discussing Doncic’s shocking trade from the Mavericks during his Pat McAfee Show appearance. While James had never experienced a trade himself, he made it clear he understood how blindsided Dončić must have felt.

“You commit to a franchise for seven years and think, ‘This is where I’m going to be,’” James said. “And then out of nowhere, bam, you just get traded. I don’t give a damn where you’re going… That’s a shock to your system.”

It wasn’t just sympathy—LeBron was calling out how the Mavericks handled the move. Doncic, the heart and soul of Dallas for seven seasons, was gearing up for an extension before getting shipped out unexpectedly. The decision left fans stunned and put Mavs GM Nico Harrison under fire, with criticism still piling up nearly two months later.

To justify the trade, Dallas’ front office tried shifting the narrative, releasing statements that painted Doncic in a negative light. Instead of quieting the backlash, it only fueled more outrage, making the team look even worse.

LeBron’s comments threw fresh gasoline on a fire that refuses to burn out. The shockwaves of the trade are still being felt across the league, and with James speaking out, the conversation isn’t dying down anytime soon.