Ja Morant is taking some time out of his busy schedule to clown on Kendrick Perkins.
The ESPN analyst Perkins made some notable comments about the Memphis Grizzlies star Morant during an appearance this week on the “Out The Mud Podcast.” Perkins said that he did not like Morant, in part because Morant had gotten in trouble and supposedly made Perkins himself look bad (as Perkins had spoken highly of Morant in the past).
“I don’t f–k with Ja,” said Perkins. “You know why I don’t f–k with Ja? The reason I’m so mad at you … [ESPN] spent millions of dollars to do an all-access on Ja and Memphis. They did that for Ja.
“Bro, I was the one that was praising Ja,” said Perkins. “We anointing you the next chosen one, and you f–k up. Guess what? Not only do that make you look bad, that made me look bad. They recognized you because of me speaking highly of you. It ain’t no coincidence you went from having three games on ESPN to 52.”
Here is the full video of Perkins’ remarks (but watch out for the bad language).
Kendricks Perkins say he doesn’t fu*k with Ja Morant
— Fullcourtpass (@Fullcourtpass) October 27, 2025
“You fu*k up, not only do that make you look bad, that made me look bad. They recognized you because of me speaking highly of you. It ain’t no coincidence you went from having 3 games on ESPN to 52.”
(Via @OutTheMudTL) pic.twitter.com/MOgTycUiat
Perkins’ remarks led to a sharp response from Morant himself via X.
“you da reason for my notoriety perk?” Morant wrote. “come on dawg. you showing em why ion fw yo kind.”
you da reason for my notoriety perk? come on dawg . you showing em why ion fw yo kind . https://t.co/OpCqI8vzSo
— Ja Morant (@JaMorant) October 27, 2025
The two-time All-Star Morant certainly deserves criticism for messing up in the past and getting himself suspended by the NBA multiple times for flashing guns on social media. But it is pretty rich for Perkins to try to suck up all the credit for Morant’s fame and national exposure instead of attributing it to Morant’s own exciting, star-level play.
Meanwhile, the 26-year-old Morant continues to make it no secret that he is not a fan of the media. Over the summer, Morant also fired back at ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith over some inflammatory comments.
