ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins issued a public apology to Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards over comments he made about Edwards on Tuesday’s “First Take.”
Perkins received some criticism for comments he made during a segment about whether Edwards had been discussed as the face of the NBA too soon. Perkins argued that many other “faces of the league” were family men who were married with kids, and that Edwards had not checked that box.
"You gotta check the boxes when you’re the face of the league…Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Shaq, LeBron, Steph…they all were family men. They all were married with kids." – Kendrick Perkins on Anthony Edwards pic.twitter.com/U8zFUZaYX2
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 27, 2025
On Wednesday, Perkins took to X to apologize to Edwards. He indicated he had apologized in private, but wanted to do so publicly as well.
“I was not taking a personal shot at you but I could see how it could have been taken that way,” Perkins wrote.
Anthony Edwards is one my favorite players in the League if not my favorite player. I apologized privately so I’m apologizing publicly to the young 👑 for my comments on First Take yesterday. My bad young fella. I Was not taking a personal shot at you but I could see how it could…
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) May 28, 2025
Perkins is no stranger to bizarre or regrettable hot takes. He seems to have recognized quite quickly how off-base this one was and apologized accordingly. There are certainly arguments to be made against Edwards being the next big face of the NBA, but the fact that he does not have a wife or children is not really one of them.
Edwards has been underwhelming in the Western Conference Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder, and has received some criticism after scoring just 16 points in the Timberwolves’ Game 4 defeat.
