Kendrick Perkins calls out “flex culture”-and the risks it poses for athlete brands online

Former NBA center-turned-analyst Kendrick Perkins says social media’s parade of private jets, stacks of cash, and hyper-luxe toys is nudging young players toward bad money habits. His critique isn’t about one platform tweak; it’s about a content norm: conspicuous consumption consistently spikes views and comments, and that reward loop can push emerging stars to signal status at any cost. The key takeaway here: virality built on flaunting wealth often attracts polarized sentiment, watchdog attention, and credibility questions-especially when on-court performance dips. That’s an unstable brand foundation.

What this means for creators and athlete partners is pragmatic, not moralizing. Aspirational content will always perform, but there’s a difference between showcasing success and glamorizing burn rate. Worth noting for brands: NIL-era athletes and rookies are scaling online faster than their financial literacy and media training. Put guardrails in your briefs-no cash-counting B-roll, clear guidelines on luxury endorsements, and approval flows for posts likely to draw “receipts” threads. Run sentiment analysis on high-gloss posts and track whether those spikes correlate with follower quality, not just raw reach. Consider balancing the feed with content that compounds brand equity: craft and training stories, community work, behind-the-scenes process, and long-term partnerships. The bigger picture is that audiences reward consistency and credibility; flash without narrative can raise CPMs in the short term and erode trust over time. The key takeaway here: use aspiration as a chapter, not the whole book.