If Pat McAfee, Stephen A. Smith and Kendrick Perkins aren’t intentionally laying the groundwork for a WWE angle leading to a blowoff at SummerSlam in August, they’re sure doing a good job of doing it on accident.
McAfee, as he has done throughout the postseason (including during Game 3 of the NBA Finals), hyped up the Indiana crowd during a break in action in the fourth quarter of Game 4 of the NBA Finals. He really leaned into Indiana’s status as an underdog, noting that while they held a 2-1 lead in the series and were home for Game 4, they were still underdogs. Earlier in the day, McAfee inserted himself into the war of words between Smith and Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton. During his in-game promo, Smith was one of the people McAfee called out in the promo, prompting a loud boo from the Indiana crowd.
Of course, Oklahoma City came back to win Game 4, tying the series at 2-2. After the game, ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins, who played for the Thunder, clapped back at McAfee.
“By the way, Pat McAfee, in OKC, we don’t need nobody on the mic to get them hyped,” Perkins said. “They’re gonna be hyped. That building is gonna be rocking.”
The reactions of Bob Myers, Malika Andrews and even Smith indicated that they probably would have preferred Perkins to bite his tongue. But, what’s said is said.
Perkins and Smith had already drawn the ire of some Indiana fans before Game 4 even began.
We imagine that the boos for Perkins will be even louder when the series returns to Gainbridge Fieldhouse for Game 6.