It's quite obvious Kendrick Perkins is not a fan of Michael Jordan. The former Boston Celtics center gladly joined the GOAT debate and he is putting his bet on Lakers superstar LeBron James. According to Perkins, his vote will not be for MJ because the Chicago Bulls legend lied about Isiah Thomas.
The big man is referring to the 1992 Dream Team that excluded the former Detroit Pistons star. Reports said Zeke was not even considered for the then Olympics-bound basketball squad because Jordan refused to play with him. Jordan had previously stated it was not his call that Thomas was snubbed.
However, an audiotape of Jordan rejecting the possibility of having Thomas on the Dream Team came out, and that proved the former Bulls superstar lied, as highlighted by Perkins in his social media posts.
"He lied, he threw everybody under the bus. At the end of the day, The Last Dance was to make MJ look like a superhero, and make everybody else look like a villain," Fadeaway World reported the 2008 NBA champion as saying.
"The Last Dance," of course is the ESPN documentary that celebrated Jordan's playing days. The film, however, is dismissed by Perkins as calibrated deliberately to make MJ a hero, which for the former Celtics star is hard to accept.
It's unsurprising then that Perkins has a different name in mind for the NBA's greatest. For him, it's none other than James and he even declared gladness that his GOAT is not Jordan.
The accusation that Jordan has been painted in the good light at the expense of his foes and ever former teammates also extends to other NBA figures. How "The Last Dance" played out reportedly proved unacceptable for Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant, who played with Jordan at Chicago.
According to Clutch Points, Pippen, considered as the closest collaborator of MJ with the Bulls, was "beyond livid" after seeing the documentary. He wasn't too please with how the film depicted his work with NBA legend and his relationship with the Bulls management.
It was the same thing with Grant. At the very least, the former Bulls man was upset by his portrayal, which seemingly only supported the greatness and near-perfection of Jordan.
And on the issue of lying, Sam Smith, author of the book "The Jordan Rules," said the retelling of the pizza poisoning, which downed MJ during the Bulls NBA Finals series with the Utah Jazz in 1998, was not exactly faithful to what really happened.
In any case, Perkins hurling criticisms at Jordan is nothing new. The 35-year-old has been known to use any opportunity that will tell the world he is not an admirer of the Bulls legend. The Jordan conversation is the rage at the moment and it seemed Perkins is making sure his voice is heard on the matter.
