Kendrick Perkins did not offer a measured critique of the Orlando Magic after their play-in loss to Philadelphia. He delivered something much harsher: a full-throated argument that Orlando does not deserve to be in the playoffs at all. The timing was pointed. The Magic had just fallen 109-97 to the 76ers in the East play-in, dropping into a last-chance game against Charlotte for the No. 8 seed after finishing the regular season tied with Philadelphia at 45-37.
Perkins’ frustration centered on two things at once: Orlando’s uneven season and Paolo Banchero’s place within it. Earlier this year, Perkins had already called Banchero “the biggest disappointment player-wise,” arguing that the former No. 1 pick had taken “three or four steps backwards” relative to expectations for both player and team. That earlier criticism gave his latest comments extra force, because this was not an isolated outburst after one bad night; it was the continuation of a line of attack he has been making for weeks.
His latest words were even more explosive.
“I’m telling you facts over feelings. I want the team that’s been playing expiring exciting basketball to get that fu**ing 8th seed, that’s the fu**ing Hornets I believe they’re going to win. But the Magic on the other hand, let’s have a fu**ing conversation. I’m so sick and tired of Paolo Banchero and the reason being is because all he’s been doing, he got more excuses than a brother going to jail. All he’s been doing all season long as makingfu**ing excuse after excuse. Throwing his coach under the bus and all of a sudden you look last night on the big stage his a** wasn’t ready to dance.”
Kendrick Perkins says he don’t want the Magic in the playoffs, they don’t deserve to be in 👀
“I’m telling you facts over feelings. I want the team that’s been playing expiring exciting basketball to get that fu*king 8th seed, that’s the fu*king Hornets I believe they’re going… https://t.co/ATgzdLb8Av pic.twitter.com/yYNr6DblMI
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) April 16, 2026
Whether one agrees with Perkins or not, the broader setup explains why the take landed so hard. Orlando had a direct chance to clinch the East’s seventh seed and instead watched Tyrese Maxey score 31 points, with 11 in the fourth quarter, as Philadelphia pulled away. Banchero finished with 18 points in the loss, while Orlando now heads into a win-or-go-home meeting with the Hornets for the conference’s final playoff berth.
That is what makes Perkins’ rant more than just television outrage. It taps into a real question around the Magic: are they a young team still learning how to arrive, or a group that has already run out of excuses? Perkins has made his answer clear. In his view, Charlotte has earned the right to keep playing, and Orlando has spent too much of this season talking like a team that belongs without consistently looking like one.
