The San Antonio Spurs walked off the floor after Game 5 of the NBA Finals without the usual post-series handshake. No Knicks. No former teammate Jeremy Sochan. Just a straight dash to the locker room. And for former NBA center turned ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins, that cold exit is exactly what the league needs.
Appearing on First Take, Perkins didn’t just defend the snub — he applauded it. His message was simple: basketball has been too polite for too long.
“We have to get back to rivalries,” Perkins said. “We have to get back to guys not liking one another. It is good and great for the game of basketball. People want to tune in to guys really competing and having real hate for one another.”
The Spurs’ decision to skip the handshake line, led by their 7-foot-4 rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama, has drawn mixed reactions. Some see it as poor sportsmanship. Others, like Perkins, view it as the birth of a defining rivalry.
“Wemby don’t like the Knicks and the Knicks don’t like Wemby,” Perkins added. “I’m glad Wemby is taking this somewhat villain approach because the league has been missing that … the league is trending in a great place right now where we need more rivalries, more hate and more dislike. It is great for the game of basketball.”
Emotions were already running high throughout the series. Fans on both sides flooded social media with complaints about physical play and missed calls. Tempers flared on the court, with Wembanyama coming within a single flagrant foul of an automatic suspension after racking up three flagrant foul points during the playoffs.
The rookie didn’t let the physicality slow him down. Across the Spurs’ playoff run, Wembanyama averaged 23.8 points, 10.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.0 steals, and 3.5 blocks per game — numbers that confirm he’s already one of the league’s defining talents.
Wembanyama has not publicly explained the handshake snub. The Spurs have not commented on the postgame decision. But the silence itself has only fueled the narrative. Whether this becomes a long-term feud or a one-series heat check, the rivalry talk has already given the NBA something it has lacked for years: real edge.
For Perkins, that edge is a feature, not a bug. And if Wembanyama keeps playing the bad guy, the ratings will follow.
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