Serge Ibaka posted a series of tweets on Monday in response to Kendrick Perkins implying his former Oklahoma City Thunder teammate lied about his age.
Ibaka’s tweet was accompanied by a video which has since been deleted. The clip in question comes from a segment on ESPN’s First Take earlier today in which Perkins brought up his tenure with the Boston Celtics and Thunder before mentioning that the latter team consisted of young star players who went to the NBA Finals in 2012.
“You know what everybody kept saying, oh, Kevin Durant is only 23 years of age, Russell Westbrook is only 22, James Harden is 22, Serge Ibaka is 21, although he was probably 30 at the time because we already know how certain individuals lie about their age. We’re not about to get into that,” Perkins said.
Ibaka explained that he considered Perkins’ comment to be “disrespectful to me and I feel like it is disrespectful to many Africans who have to live with that unfounded accusation.”
His tweets took a personal turn soon after. Ibaka accused Perkins of breaking the locker room code and spreading lies about Durant and Westbrook.
Durant and Perkins exchanged words over Twitter two years ago after he declared Westbrook as the best player to ever play for the Thunder.
Ibaka hinted that he could publicly say more about Perkins, but decided against doing so. The 33-year-old forward concluded by stating he chose to respond because his former teammate “went too far.”
Perkins initially apologized for offending Ibaka, claiming his remark was meant to be a joke.
Less than an hour later, Perkins went on the offensive with a tweet suggesting he could also share some information about what was going on with Ibaka in the locker room when the two played for the Thunder.
