Kendrick Perkins Claims Nikola Jokic 'Wouldn't Have Wanted This Smoke'

In most sports, yesterday's greats are not keen on admitting that today's stars might just have a leg up on them. But in no other sport do former players so readily voice such opinions as they do in the NBA. And one former-player-turned-ESPN-analyst Kendrick Perkins, who spent 14 seasons in the NBA, was not shy about telling the world how he thinks he would have fared in a matchup against Denver Nuggets star center Nikola Jokic.

Hint, Perkins thinks he would have fared very well.

"Jokic wouldn't have wanted this smoke," Perkins said during NBA Countdown on ESPN before Friday's Boston Celtics-New York Knicks game. "Kobe [Bryant] said I was the best post defender in the league."

Kendrick Perkins thinks he would’ve slowed down Nikola Jokic

“Jokic wouldn’t have wanted this smoke. Kobe said I was the best post defender on the league.”

(h/t @nikolaesthetic / @Fullcourtpass )

pic.twitter.com/otSXPjny7N
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) May 17, 2025

Perkins must have forgotten that NBA fans are nothing if not diligent when it comes to holding onto receipts. One fan dug up footage of a Nuggets game, featuring Jokic in his rookie year, going up against a 31-year-old Perkins, who was in his second-to-last season, back in 2015-16.

It was... not great for Perkins.

Rookie Jokic, in his 25th game, coming off the bench, vs year 13 Perkins. https://t.co/ZdcvDwHDGz pic.twitter.com/3Pe7QQZIgB
— Jokicism 🃏 (@jokicgoatic15) May 17, 2025

To be fair, this was not young Perkins, who averaged 2.0 blocks per game as a 24-year-old for the Boston Celtics during the 2008-09 season. Maybe that Perkins would have given today's version of Jokic some trouble.

What immediately trumps Perkins's argument though, is the fact that many of today's players, including those who have won Defensive Player of the Year awards, haven't been able to slow down the three-time MVP.

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