Kendrick Perkins’ recent remarks about race being a factor in the MVP awards won by Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash and Nikola Jokic caused a stir in the basketball world. ESPN analyst and former NBA sharpshooter JJ Redick weighed in on Perkins’ claims on “First Take”, firing back with some hard facts. Redick called out Perkins for cherry-picking data that only included MVPs since 1990, ignoring the fact that Magic Johnson won the MVP award in the 80’s without ranking in the top ten in scoring average. Redick then used advanced statistics to point out that Nowitzki led the league in win shares and offensive win shares the year he won the MVP.
This isn’t the first time that Perkins has sparked controversy with his comments. While he has the right to express his opinion, Redick’s response raises an important question: Is Perkins looking at the data objectively or is he trying to make a point about race? It’s impossible to know for sure, but one thing is certain: Perkins’ claims about race influencing MVP awards are unfounded. Redick’s response showed that the data does not support such a conclusion.
Ultimately, the MVP award should be based on performance and skill rather than race. JJ Redick’s response to Perkins’ remarks serves as a reminder that we should look at the facts and not jump to conclusions.
