Fans Question ‘Kyrie Irving Praise’ as Kendrick Perkins Turns a Blind Eye to Luka Doncic and 6’7 NBA Star

After stealing a crucial road win against the Oklahoma City Thunder in game 2, it looks like the Dallas Mavericks wanted to take full advantage of their home court. In Game 3, the young Thunder team raised the bar in defense to get a few stops against Luka Doncic. Anyhow, Kyrie Irving was once again unstoppable, especially in the clutch. Boston Celtics champion Kendrick Perkins had some heavy praise for Irving’s game-sealing bucket, but he also credited a young Thunder star for playing a tight defense. While Perkins gave Irving all the credits for game 3 win, fans did not seem to agree with him. 

Irving took the trouble of handling the ball at the last minute when he was guarded by Jaylen Williams of the OKC. Mavericks were up three points, but no lead was safe against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Co. Thus, Irving went deep inside his bag to cross up Williams, to find a few inches of space inside the paint, so that he could release his iconic left-hand floater. That tough bucket sealed the win for the Mavericks, to take a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference Semi-Finals. 

Kendrick Perkins loved Irving’s smooth finish, but he wanted to share a few words about Williams for showing up on defense. The 2008 champion tweeted, “That was great ass defense by J-Dub… but it was Hall Of Fame offense by Kyrie!! God Bless America.” Perkins’ praise for Irving did not stop there. 

He also wrote, “For the second game in a row Kyrie was the best player on the floor. His Championship leadership on both ends of the floor has been a beautiful thing to watch.”

While a few agreed with this take from Perkins, many did not like the fact that he did not credit a few other X-factors of the Mavericks team

“Why don’t you ever credit…?”: Fans question Kendrick Perkins’s bias towards Irving

Irving dropped a crucial 22-point performance by shooting nearly an efficient 60% from the field. At the same time, Luka Doncic also had 22 points, which helped the Mavericks in the second half. A fan wrote on X, “Luka was best player last game. Kyrie is always our leader out there and was best player tonight! Why don’t you ever credit Luka…it’s getting weird.“ Doncic had a near 29-point triple-double in game 2, but Perkins did not have a lot to say about that performance. 

Another netizen wrote on X, “Bro what are you watching he had 9 points last game”. Irving had an off night in game 2 at OKC. He was 2/11 from the field and finished with just 9 points. Anyhow, this did not cost the Mavs a win. 

An X user tweeted, “PJ[Washington] been stepping up in these two wins“. PJ Washington’s performance in game 2 and game 3 is not being spoken about a lot. The Mavericks power forward scored 29 points, which included 7 threes in game 2. He continued this efficiency today, to finish with 27 points and he was the highest scorer of his team. 

“I agree Kyrie has the leadership, but he has not been the best player in the floor the past 2 games. Luka and PJ have been the best 2 on the floor”, said another fan on X. Many netizens did not like the fact that Perkins was not putting PJ Washington and Doncic under the spotlight. 

A fan also highlighted Doncic’s knee injury, as he wrote, “Nope. Luka is playing on one leg and still controlled that game.” Doncic was bleeding from both knees this game, which shows his heartfelt dedication to the playoffs. Looks like fans want a change of perspective from Perkins!