Kendrick Perkins Names Better Player Between Steph Curry, James Harden

Kendrick Perkins has definitely been having fun as an analyst for ESPN. But his latest hot take on the Steph Curry vs. James Harden debate isn’t going over well with fans.

On Monday’s edition of First Take, Perkins declared that Harden is a better player than Curry. He explained that Harden brings more to the table and believes that he made the Houston Rockets relevant as soon as he arrived.

First Take commentators Max Kellerman and Marcus Spears were clearly stunned by Perkins’ statement. They asked him multiple times to clarify what he was saying just to make sure they were hearing him properly.

Fans on Twitter weren’t impressed by Perkins’ stance either. Many pointed out that while Harden has been good, his greatness hasn’t carried over to the playoffs – unlike Curry.

Another point of contention was Perkins’ potential bias against Steph Curry for an infamous confrontation the two of them had in the 2018 NBA Finals.

That said, there’s no denying that Harden has been incredible over the past three years.

Since the 2017-18 season he’s averaged 33.7 points per game – leading the NBA in points per game each season. He earned NBA MVP honors in 2018. His average point, assists and rebounds have all been higher than Curry’s during that span.

But is he better than a healthy Steph Curry who does all the heavy lifting? That definitely remains to be seen.