Was Kendrick Perkins the reason the Oklahoma City Thunder became a Conference Finals-level team? Well, that’s exactly what the former NBA champion believes. OKC signed Perkins for a four-year, $36 million deal, but that contract ultimately left them with not enough to keep James Harden. This decision raised eyebrows across the media, with many questioning the Thunder’s move. But Perkins, for his part, believes he was the driving force behind OKC’s success during his time there—not Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, or Harden.

Things got even more heated when Perkins blamed Durant for the Suns’ recent playoff struggles. “Another organization, another failure for Kevin Durant,” Perkins said, pointing to KD’s inability to find playoff success since leaving the Warriors six years ago.

But the real kicker came when Perkins questioned Durant’s leadership skills. He boldly stated, “It doesn’t mean your best player is your leader. When I was with the Thunder, it wasn’t KD, it wasn’t Russ, it wasn’t James, I was the one leading.”

Imagine that: Perkins, not the MVP-caliber trio of Durant, Westbrook, and Harden, claims he was the one who led the team. Of course, Durant had something to say about all this. “I know this may be a reach but this comment is by far the craziest sh*t I’ve seen this week,” he fired back.

So, who really was leading the Thunder? Let’s dive into some facts and stats to figure it out.

Kevin Durant’s Thunder tenure

Kevin Durant wasted no time making an impact in the league. In his first regular-season game, the 19-year-old put up 18 points, grabbed five rebounds, and snagged three steals against the Denver Nuggets. Just a few weeks later, he delivered his first game-winning shot against the Hawks, proving early on that he had the clutch gene.

By the end of the 2007–08 season, Durant had averaged 20.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game, earning himself the NBA Rookie of the Year award. Not a bad way to start a career. Durant also joined Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James as the only teenagers in NBA history to average at least 20 points per game over an entire season.

By 2008, he had a new running mate in Russell Westbrook, and together, they turned the Thunder into a dangerous force in the West. From 2007 to 2016, Durant was the face of the franchise, and OKC quickly became a playoff contender under his leadership.

Durant’s scoring ability was next-level. He led the league in scoring and took the Thunder to the playoffs just three years after entering the NBA. During the 2012–13 season, he averaged 28.1 points per game but fell short of defending his scoring title.

Still, he made history by becoming the youngest player ever to join the elite 50–40–90 club, shooting 51% from the field, 41.6% from three, and 90.5% from the free-throw line. That season, OKC finished with a dominant 60–22 record, locking in the top seed in the Western Conference.

Then came his MVP season in 2013–14. Durant averaged 32 points per game and dropped 30 or more points in 12 straight games, including a career-high 54 points against the Warriors. In April, he broke Michael Jordan’s record for consecutive games scoring 25 or more points. The Thunder finished the season with 59 wins, and Durant was named NBA MVP with averages of 32 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 5.5 assists.

But after OKC’s heartbreaking playoff loss to the Warriors in 2016, Durant had seen enough. Tired of coming up short, he made the controversial decision to join Golden State the very next season. So did Kendrick Perkins do more than KD in his OKC tenure?

How good did Big Perk play during his stint at OKC?

Kendrick Perkins does not doubt his impact in Oklahoma City. “When I was in Oklahoma City, they had trouble getting up out of the first round. Got there. Took them to multiple Western Conference Finals. To the Finals. Took them to the promised land. I took them to the promised land,” he claimed. But was that really the case?

Let’s break it down. Perkins played five seasons with OKC as their starting center, and yes, the team reached the Conference Finals twice. But was he the driving force? The numbers say otherwise. Perkins never averaged more than 5.1 points per game in any season with the Thunder. For a guy who claims, he led the charge, that’s not exactly convincing.

His rebounding and defense didn’t exactly make up for his lack of scoring, either. Across his three full seasons with OKC, he averaged just 5.5 rebounds and 0.9 blocks per game. For a supposed defensive anchor, those numbers aren’t exactly elite. Maybe he saved his best for the playoffs? Not quite.

Perkins never hit the 5 points per game mark in any of his postseason runs with OKC. His 2012–13 playoff performance was especially rough—he played all 11 games, averaging 19.1 minutes, but managed just 5 blocks and 24 total points.

Meanwhile, he turned the ball over 23 times and committed 39 personal fouls, barely outrebounding that number with 41 total boards. So, while his claims of leadership might be debatable, one thing isn’t—his love for the Thunder was always clear.