Kendrick Perkins is fooled again as ESPN analyst quotes viral Twitter joke about Jonathan Kuminga

ESPN NBA analyst Kendrick Perkins fell victim to a viral joke on Twitter while on air – and it is not the first time he has fallen for such a prank.

The 2008 NBA Champion was recently speaking on the Golden State Warriors in the aftermath of Draymond Green declining his player option.

‘From reports, I’m hearing that Jonathan Kuminga is now 7-2,’ Perkins said on SportsCenter. ‘The kid has gotten better every single season.’

The problem is, however, that the 6-foot-7, 21-year-old forward has not had a seven-inch growth spurt within the last several months.

The rumor that duped Perkins was started by Warriors fan page that posted a fake quote from guard Moses Moody, which claimed Kuminga had the growth spurt. 

ESPN NBA analyst Kenderick Perkins recently fell victim to a viral joke on Twitter once again

The false report Perkins referenced claimed that Jonathan Kuminga had grown to 7-foot-2

‘I’m not lying… he’s tall as f–k now,’ the fake quote read. The tweet then added: ‘The 19 yr old Kuminga arrived in the Bay at only 6’7. 20 yr old Kuminga now rumored to be 7’0.’

The account quickly posted in the comments that it was not a true report, however, this did not stop Warriors veteran Andre Iguodala from adding fuel to the fire.

‘I just saw JK. He 7’2,’ Iguodala wrote. 

The joke went even further when another fan posted a photoshopped image of Kuminga appearing to tower over teammate Jordan Poole while working out together. 

Following his appearance on SportsCenter Tuesday, Perkins learnt he had been duped, tweeting, ‘I hate this damn app,’ with three crying-laughing emojis. 

The Warriors fan page that posted the joke even went as far as to confirm it was not the truth

Warriors vet Andre Iguodala added fuel to the fire by joining in on the joke in the comments

Another fan created a photoshopped image of Kuminga to play along with the viral joke

Perkins was previously caught out by Twitter when he cited a months-old report from the Twitter account ‘Ballsack Sports,’ which is a satirical account that purposefully puts out fake quotes. 

The fake report, which claimed to be from a Brooklyn Nets practice during the time that James Harden and Kyrie Irving were still on the team, stated that Irving ‘demoralized’ Harden by locking him down in practice, and that he called the current Sixers guard ‘washed.’

Perkins seemingly took the report to be true as he referenced it on ESPN a month later.  

‘All those rumors and stories that we heard about Kyrie and James Harden in practice with the Nets, and Kyrie going at him. Guess what? Kyrie showed us last night that those were facts and that was true!’ Perkins said.