Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley ripped in on Kendrick Perkins’ suggestion that race plays a role in the NBA MVP voting when it comes to Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic.
Barkley spoke about Perkins’ comments on Denver’s Altitude Sports Radio with Vic Lombardi, Marc Moser and Brett Kane. The former Phoenix Suns star said he didn’t believe Jokic was concerned about what pundits said about him on ESPN’s “First Take” to begin with.
Perkins suggested there was a racial bias as three players have won an MVP since 1990 despite being outside the top 10 in points per game: Jokic in his first MVP campaign in 2020-21, Dirk Nowitzki (2006- 07) and Steve Nash (2004). -05, 2005-06). All three are white.
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Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) brings the ball onto the field during the third quarter against the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center in Houston on February 28, 2023. (Troy Taormina/USA Today Sports)
“I’m pretty sure he doesn’t care about those idiots on TV talking about him either,” Barkley said. “If I know the Joker, he probably just got out of bed. He probably got a good night’s sleep. The Nuggets won a tough game last night. Mike Malone probably should have given them a day off and put them in the day after that game I’m pretty sure he’s not up for all this silliness.
“You can’t tell me because the numbers don’t make any sense. … Does he know how many voters are actually white or did he get 80% out of his a–? My point is if only five white guys won MVP in “for the past 30 years, that makes no sense — his argument. No idea. Because if that were the case, we’d have a lot more white MVPs. … Wouldn’t the numbers be much, much worse?”
He called Perkins’ recording “one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard.”
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NBA great Charles Barkley is recognized for his selection to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team at halftime of the 2022 NBA All-Star Game at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland on February 20, 2022. (Kyle Terada/USA Today Sports)
“I always talk about the ESPN disease,” the 1993 MVP added. “A lot of these guys, when they come on TV and stuff, they say, ‘Well, I’m on ESPN, I have to say something provocative.’ And you know what it is, you always get some fools, you guys probably get some fools calling to agree with him.
“That’s what bothers me sometimes. I can promise you this, I’ve never said anything on television just to get clicks. That doesn’t mean I’ve been right or wrong, anything. But I’ve never said anything like : “Well, I know people are going to react and go crazy, let me say this.”
“And this is what bothers me too. Man, race is such a touchy subject because very few people have pure hearts. We can talk about race as much as you want, as long as you stay honest and fair.” But to vilify this man (Jokic) in this situation is just total BS.”
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Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) spins to the basket as Memphis Grizzlies forward Xavier Tillman (2) defends during the first half at FedEx Forum in Memphis on Feb. 25, 2023. (Petre Thomas/USA Today Sports)
Barkley used his own career to make a comparison. He said that when he won the MVP in 1993, he was not a better overall player than Michael Jordan, but the best player on the Suns that season, while Phoenix had the best record in the NBA.
Appearing on ESPN’s “First Take” on Tuesday, JJ Redick strongly pushed back on Perkins’ view that there is racial bias in the vote.
“Stephen A. (Smith), I don’t want to offend you. And I don’t want to offend ‘First Take’ because I think this show is extremely valuable,” he entered. “It’s an honor to sit at this desk every day. It really is. But what we’ve just seen is the problem with this show. Where we’re creating stories that don’t exist in reality. The implication you’re suggesting – that the White voters who vote for NBA (awards) are racist, that they favor white people, you just said that.
“That’s exactly what you suggested to Kendrick Perkins,” Redick said as his former NBA colleague shook his head.
Kendrick Perkins attends the Ruffles NBA All-Star Celebrity Game during the 2022 NBA All-Star Weekend at Wolstein Center on February 18, 2022 in Cleveland. (Arturo Holmes/Getty Images)
“I do not have.” Perkins said, adding, “I’ve stated the facts.”
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Jokic has averaged a double-double in his MVP seasons over the past two years. The Denver star has averaged 24.4 points, 11.8 rebounds and 10 assists this season and is well on his way to another MVP award.
Ryan Morik of Fox News contributed to this report.
