Saturday Night Live brought the laughs this past weekend with a side-splitting parody of ESPN analyst and former NBA player Kendrick Perkins. During the Weekend Update segment, Kenan Thompson took center stage, delivering a pitch-perfect impersonation of Perkins that had fans and viewers in stitches.
Dressed in a beard-heavy costume to match Perkins’ signature look, Thompson nailed every detail—from the deep voice to the larger-than-life personality and unique way with words. The sketch kicked off with Thompson’s Perkins addressing the blockbuster trade that sent Luka Dončić from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers. In true comedic fashion, Thompson’s Perkins declared,
“Folks on the inside know Luka Dookie is hurt. I’m hearing rumors that he got a small tear in his interior crustaceous uterus. I ain’t no doctor, but by my estimations, I believe he gon’ be dead by April.”
The absurdly incorrect medical jargon and over-the-top delivery had the audience roaring with laughter.
Thompson’s parody didn’t stop there. He took aim at Stephen A. Smith’s massive new contract with ESPN, quipping
“Stephen A. Smith just got 100 million dollars to go on ESPN every day and talk nothing but nonsense, and I want a piece of that, too.”
The sketch also included a hilariously exaggerated take on LeBron James, with Thompson’s Perkins claiming,
“LeBron is 55 (62, 71) years old, he has one arm, twelve kids—one of them is black—and he works undercover as a French superspy. The name is LeBron, James LeBron.”
Kendrick Perkins swings by the Update desk! pic.twitter.com/0b51TmpBWW
— Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) March 9, 2025
