"So mad when a white guy wins MVP?": Kendrick Perkins sparks racism accusations with comments on Jokic, Dirk and Nash
Kendrick Perkins has been very controversial as a basketball analyst. Since retiring from the NBA, the former champion has joined ESPN and has made a couple of odd statements.
Perkins was recently accused of racism. He implied that Nikola Jokic, Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash won MVP awards only because they were white.
"When it comes down to guys winning MVP since 1990, it’s only three guys that won the MVP that wasn’t top 10 in scoring -- Steve Nash, Jokic and Dirk Nowitzki," Perkins said in a now-deleted video. "What do those guys have in common?"
The analyst spent 14 years in the professional basketball league and was active when Nash and Nowitzki won their MVP awards.
Kendrick Perkins was accused of racism
All three players Perkins brought up were fantastic and definitely deserved the prestigious award. Jokic, in fact, is having a historic season with the Denver Nuggets and may win another MVP award, his third in a row.
The basketball analyst went too far with his recent comments and it's no surprise that many fans were upset with him.
Kendrick Perkins, you can’t just claim criteria is different for white players, and then delete the video and pretend it never happened. This one is here to stay. Accountability.
#MileHighBasketball @jj_redick @KendrickPerkins @espn #NBA #NBATwitter #mvp #jokic @jokerszn15 https://t.co/mYrVYEReL8
Perkins' comments were very controversial, which is why he took the video down. However, several people saved it before it was deleted and it has since gone viral.
Many basketball fans think that the analyst got mad simply because a white guy won the award. However, no one really knows why he's acting like that.
@TheNBACentral Why Kendrick Perkins get so mad when a white guy wins MVP? 🤣
One Twitter user called Kendrick Perkins racist.
@DoZay1 @TheNBACentral Because he’s a racist.
@TheNBACentral I can’t imagine what the reaction would be if a white person said something like this about black people
Another user claimed that Nowitzki was fifth in points scored during his 2006-07 MVP season. While Dirk's scoring average of 24.6 points per game was tied for the 10th position with Tracy McGrady, he was still a great scorer.
You may be interested in reading: Kendrick Perkins on LeBron James' road to greatness: “He knew, he was destined for greatness”
Only Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Gilbert Arenas and Vince Carter scored more points than the Dallas Mavericks forward that season.
@TheNBACentral But Dirk is no 6 in all time scoring and was top 5 in points scored in his mvp season
Scoring average is not the only thing that matters. Nash, Nowitzki and Jokic played winning basketball and that was the most important thing.
@TheNBACentral They were on winning basketball teams and being a INTRIGAL part of those basketball teams winning. 🤷🏾♂️
Perkins most likely realized that he was wrong, which is why he took the video down. However, it will be interesting to see if he will face any consequences for making this ridiculous statement.
Nikola Jokic could win his third MVP award in a row
Despite what Kendrick Perkins may think, Nikola Jokic is a fantastic player. He's having a historic season, averaging 24.6 points, 11.7 rebounds and 10.0 assists per game.
The Nuggets forward is doing all of this while shooting 63.3% from the field, which is very impressive.
You may be interested in reading: Serge Ibaka fires back at Kendrick Perkins for ridiculing him: “Disappointing to hear someone I shared a locker room with spreading misinformation"
Despite having a historically great season, the Nuggets superstar ranks only 19th in points average. Fortunately, this is not the only stat that's important when choosing the most valuable player.