From the outside, it’s easy to tell Stephen A. Smith and Pat McAfee are important to ESPN. But when a fellow ESPN employee like Kendrick Perkins calls them the most powerful people at the company, it shows just how important they really are.
In an appearance on All the Smoke released Tuesday, Perkins opened up on what both hosts have meant to his career since joining ESPN in 2019 and why each is irreplaceable to the worldwide leader.
Perkins said Smith, who he works with on First Take and NBA Countdown, has been a real mentor to him.
“The one guy I lean on, the one guy that gives me a lot of insight and guidance on how it works, to be honest with you, is Stephen A.,” Perkins said.
Perkins learned a lot from Smith about succeeding at ESPN. In particular, Perkins sees how Smith moves as a businessman within the network and aspires to do the same.
“When you think about what Stephen A. does, he takes a lot of criticism, and he’s not afraid to go out there,” Perkins explained. “We live in a world today where drama is going to sell, and Stephen A., he’s bringing in billions of dollars for the network.”
Yet Perkins is one of the only talent at ESPN who works closely with both Smith and McAfee. Despite McAfee recently criticizing ESPN’s NBA staff for being hard to schedule with, Perkins has traveled to McAfee’s Indianapolis “Thunderdome” in the past and frequently appears on The Pat McAfee Show.
“When you talk about the most powerful people at ESPN, it’s him and Stephen A. Smith,” Perkins said.
Perkins appreciates the real-world vibe of the show.
“For what he’s doing, and especially doing it on his network, a lot of people may have complaints or whatever, but he’s doing it a whole other way where this is how people act in the real world, and you’re just going to have to adjust,” Perkins said.
The 2008 NBA champion reaches pretty high with his beefs, getting into it with Charles Barkley last NBA season. But Perkins believes McAfee showed his true power when he took on former ESPN executive Norby Williamson publicly in January—and won.
“Pat McAfee called out a real top dog, and that top dog is no longer there,” Perkins said. “The thing I love is because he ain’t gonna hide it. The same s**t he says in private, he’s gonna say it in public, how he feels. He sets a bar to up your game. He also sets a bar of accountability, and so I respect it.”
Like many ESPN take artists, some question the authenticity of what Kendrick Perkins says on television. But he’s great at playing the game, just got rewarded with a new contract extension, and is learning from two of the best in the business.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.