'They should be thanking me': Rucker in no mood to say sorry

Three straight wins haven't been enough to earn the Perth Wildcats an apology from Derek Rucker.

The former NBL MVP called on the 'basketball gods' to punish Perth a fortnight ago on NBL Overtime, taking aim at the club for starting NBL27 without a recognised point guard.

Perth signed Brandon Knight on September 14, but the former NBA star won't make his debut until Saturday night against New Zealand.

"I hope the Perth Wildcats lose most of their games, or all their games, until they pay their penance to the basketball gods for coming into this season with this incomplete lineup," Rucker said at the time.

The basketball gods appear to have had other ideas.

Perth hasn't lost since those comments. The Wildcats are 3-1 after avenging their Round 1 loss to South East Melbourne with a 92-88 win on Friday night.

Asked on Monday's NBL Overtime whether he owed the Wildcats an apology, Rucker didn't budge.

"No, I don't have an apology. Why should I have an apology?" he said.

"I said I hope they lose all their games until they pay a penance. I didn't say they would lose all of their games. They're a very good team. I said they are a championship level team."

Rucker went as far as saying the Wildcats should be grateful for his comments. He pointed to Perth players engaging with his remarks on social media as a sign he had struck a nerve.

"What they should be doing is thanking me for bringing to light the frustrations that the playing group was feeling, evidenced by the fact that there were 'Cats liking my tweet," he said.

Rucker was even willing to put a number on his contribution to the winning streak: "30 per cent."

The former MVP has been consistent in his view. Days after his original comments, he said Perth's title hopes hinged on how quickly Knight settled into the League, adding that "the other pieces are there."

Knight only arrived in Perth last Wednesday, and the Wildcats have given him time to settle into a new city. The form of Elijah Pepper and Anthony Dell'Orso has also helped ease the pressure on the import.

The 34-year-old is no longer being cast as the team's knight in shining armour.

"One of the things I pointed out during that stretch was if Pepper played well, if ADO was playing well, it would ease the pressure on Brandon Knight when he's coming in. And that's exactly what's happened," Rucker said.

"Now, when Brandon Knight comes in, he can find his way into the lineup. There's no pressure. Pepper went back-to-back 25-point games, and now Brandon Knight can just feel out the League, see what's going on, and find his way to impact games."

Even so, Rucker said Knight still had plenty to prove, despite an illustrious career spanning four countries and 13 teams.

"I don't care about seeing Brandon Knight make all those threes with nobody in the gym," he said. "That footage don't mean nothing.

"But Brandon Knight, I hope you do well. I'm looking forward to seeing you play."