Kendrick Perkins faced a lot of criticism for a take he delivered about Nikola Jokic during the regular season, and Pat McAfee is not about to let Perk forget about it.
Perkins discussed Jokic’s dominance during a Monday appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show.” McAfee, who recently signed a massive deal with ESPN, asked the ESPN analyst why Jokic does not receive more national attention. Perkins called the Denver Nuggets star “the most skilled center to ever touch the damn basketball.”
“We are to blame. That’s us as the media, us at the network ESPN. We should do a better job of promoting and marketing him,” Perkins said. “He should be on television, because if you want to show someone how to play basketball the correct way, you’ve gotta show them Jokic. … We shouldn’t have to be waiting until the NBA finals to be able to appreciate Jokic. We’ve gotta do a better job, including myself, of actually marketing him.”
Of course, this is the same Perkins who complained in March about the possibility of Jokic winning a third consecutive NBA MVP award. Perkins implied that Jokic was favored to win the award due to white NBA MVP voters favoring a white player.
After Perkins showered praise on Jokic, McAfee threw an incredible zinger at the former NBA champion.
“Well Perk, the reason why you won’t is because he’s white. I know that,” McAfee quipped.
To his credit, Perkins took the joke in stride. You can see the exchange at around the 1:35 mark below:
"Nikola Jokić is the most skilled center to ever touch the damn basketball" @KendrickPerkins #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/MVfoPDYfCJ
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) June 5, 2023
Even ESPN had to set the record straight about some of the claims Perkins made, which the network typically does not do when false narratives about racism are pushed.
The real irony is that Perkins had such glowing things to say about Jokic just months after he claimed the Nuggets star was the MVP favorite because of skin color. It was satisfying to hear McAfee call Perkins on it.
