Kendrick Perkins and JJ Redick got into an argument on ESPN’s First Take on Tuesday morning, with Perkins arguing that NBA MVP voters have a racial bias toward Nuggets center Nikola Jokić. That debate caught the attention of many in the industry, including TNT analyst Charles Barkley.
While appearing on Denver’s Altitude Sports Radio 92.5, Barkley criticized Perkins for crafting outlandish takes just for entertainment purposes on ESPN. The TNT analyst accused ESPN talking heads of constantly talking down MVP candidates specifically.
“I always talk about ESPN disease,” Barkley said. “A lot of these guys, when they get on TV and stuff, they’re like, ‘Well I’m on ESPN; I got to say something provocative.’ And you know the thing about it, you’re always gonna get some fools out there, you guys probably get some fools calling in agreeing with him. … I can promise you this: I’ve never said anything on television just to get clicks.”
The argument between Redick and Perkins apparently has been simmering for over a week, and Barkley said he was happy to see Redick challenge Perkins on his opinion.
“This crossed a line,” Barkley said. “JJ is the only person to challenge Perk last week. I’m glad he did it, because when I first heard it, I said, ‘Man this has got to be one of the stupidest things I’ve ever heard.’”
Barkley mentioned that race is a “touchy subject,” which is what particularly bothered him about this argument. He added that NBA analysts often don’t analyze MVP races properly because they don’t consider that it is strictly a regular-season award.
Throughout the radio appearance, Barkley lavished praise on Jokić and credited him for not chasing stats, something he mentioned should be accounted for in the MVP debate.
