Kendrick Perkins and NBA Fans Give Verdict on ESPN Employee Udonis Haslem’s Analyst Role

After winning 3 NBA championships as a perfect role player, Udonis Haslem seems to have aced another job. So much so that Magic Johnson and Kendrick Perkins have faith in UD. Just a few days ago, the 5x NBA champion asked ESPN to hire Haslem as their new analyst. Why? The Miami Heat legend has been exceptionally good in his job as an analyst for the network. Moreover, ESPN analyst Perkins took to his Instagram to double down on his claims of Haslem being great in this role.

An Instagram post by NBAESPN featured a clip in which Haslem shared a list of the five most dominant franchises in the league since 2000. Perkins quickly jumped into the comments section and wrote, “This is a great list.” Perkins’ impressive broadcasting and analyst career makes the statement credible. According to Haslem, the teams in descending order are the Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs, Golden State Warriors, and for the first position, the Los Angeles Lakers.

In terms of championships won this century and overall playoff success, this list does seem accurate. The Lakers have won 6 title since the turn of the century, while the Warriors and the Spurs have 4. Miami, who Haslem was a part of for 20 years, won 3 titles and after their recent win, the Celtics now have two this century.

Another NBA legend who praised Haslem and has faith in him is Magic Johnson. The Lakers icon was so impressed by Haslem’s work that he even suggested ESPN hire Haslem as a full-time analyst and let him be a part of the ESPN crew featuring JJ Redick, Perkins, and Jay Williams. “You should hire Udonis Haslem permanently!” Johnson wrote on X. 

Johnson praised the 3x NBA champion for the way he broke down the players’ game in the NBA playoffs. Haslem made appearances as an analyst on NBA on ESPN, First Take, and Get Up, and is quite good at it. Agreeing with Johnson, Perkins also commented, “He’s right, my brother! You’ve been killing it and it’s definitely a joy working with you, bro,” on X. Now, fans and NBA experts have joined in to praise Haslem as well.

Udonis Haslem’s new list of dominant NBA franchises causes an argument among fans 

Just like the ESPN analyst Perkins, most netizens believe that Haslem is right about his list. “Prolly the most accurate nba list we have ever seen,” the Instagram user wrote. Praising Haslem for his smooth transitions and skills in his new job, one fan wrote, “The best list from an analyst in a VERY long time this is completely accurate,” while another wrote, “Haslem cooked with this list.”

However, some fans have a few doubts about Haslem’s list. One user claimed that the Spurs and Warriors are interchangeable in terms of their success in winning championships and reaching the NBA Finals. “Lakers won 6 and went to 8 finals. Warriors won 4 and went to 6. Spurs won 5 and went to 6. Boston won 2 and went to 3. Heat won 3 and went to 6. Spurs and Warriors are interchangeable,” the user wrote.

Many praised Haslem but stated that the Spurs were better than the Warriors. One of the comments read, “An argument could be made that the Spurs were better than the Warriors but overall solid list.”

The Miami Heat retired Haslem’s jersey after his retirement from the NBA in 2023. Along with his podcast, The OG’s with Miller, Haslem is slowly inching toward a career as an analyst, and fans and experts are just loving it.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the infamous Shaq-Kobe feud, Caitlin Clark’s Olympic snub, and more, watch this video.