Kendrick Perkins is dealing with controversy over his suggestion that NBA MVP voters are biased toward reigning MVP Nikola Jokić.
More recently, Perkins’ comments have sparked a Twitter spat with former NBA coach George Karl.
Perkins doubled down on his comments Tuesday by posting a tweet that read: «A TRUTH speaker has no friends!!!»
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ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins reports on the 2022 NBA Draft Combine on May 18, 2022 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. (Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images)
The 2013 NBA Coach of the Year decided to respond to Perkins’ statement.
«False @KendrickPerkins because honest and educated people respect the Truth,» Karl wrote. «Also, don’t forget that the truth is about facts, not casual opinions.»
Perkins did not take kindly to Karl’s comment and quickly asked why Karl «of all people» would dare answer him.
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Perkins, a former Boston Celtics center and 2008 NBA champion, also hinted that Karl had «skeletons» in his closet.
«@CoachKarl22 of all people you want to go there today? Because I definitely have time boy. YOU definitely have some skeletons in your fucking closet,» Perkins wrote.
Karl, who has made headlines making inflammatory comments about NBA players, responded: «Go to @KendrickPerkins? He was telling the truth when you were in diapers. Coach Dean Smith introduced him to me and I’ve lived it ever since. «.
Karl, who spent 27 seasons as an NBA head coach, added that he believed Jokić was named league MVP twice in a row because of his level of play on the court.
Canton Charge’s Kendrick Perkins sits on the bench during an NBA G-League game against the Northern Arizona Suns on January 12, 2018 at the Hershey Center in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. (AJ Messier/NBAE via Getty Images)
«The truth here is MVP voters are not racist, Jokic is going to win it again because he deserves it and you still owe me the Bubble dinner,» Karl wrote.
Jokić is once again one of the frontrunners in this year’s MVP race. If the Denver Nuggets star wins, it will be his third consecutive MVP award.
Since the MVP award debuted in the 1955-56 season, only three players have achieved the MVP treble.
Eleven-time NBA champion Bill Russell won the award from 1960 to 1963, Wilt Chamberlain earned MVP honors from 1965 to 1968, and Celtics all-time great Larry Bird was named MVP three times in a row from 1983. to 1986.
On Tuesday’s episode of ESPN’s «First Take,» JJ Redick criticized the show’s format and rejected Perkins’ comments.
Kendrick Perkins attends the Ruffles NBA All-Star Celebrity Game during 2022 NBA All-Star Weekend at Wolstein Center on February 18, 2022 in Cleveland. (Arthur Holmes/Getty Images)
«Stephen A. (Smith), I don’t want to offend you. And I don’t want to offend ‘First Take’ because I think this program is extremely valuable,» Redick said. «It’s an honor to be at this desk every day. It really is. But what we’ve just witnessed is the problem with this show. Where we create narratives that don’t exist in reality. The implication you’re hinting at: that White voters who vote for the NBA (awards) are racist, pro-white.
«That’s exactly what Kendrick Perkins hinted at.»
«I did not!» Perkins responded, adding, «I laid out the facts!»
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On Wednesday, ESPN issued a correction in reference to Perkins’ comments.
«I want to correct something from yesterday’s show,» said «First Take» co-host Molly Qerim. «When Kendrick Perkins said that 80% of NBA voters for the MVP award are white, the NBA publicly announces the voters each year, and upon review, it’s clear that the panel is much more diverse than we realized. represented Kendrick Perkins. And we wanted to make sure we corrected that today.»