Bomani Jones weighs in on Kendrick Perkins-JJ Redick NBA MVP debate

During an ESPN First Take segment on March 7, Kendrick Perkins and JJ Redick got into a heated argument about whether the NBA MVP vote had racial bias. The argument went viral as Perkins and Redick put forward contrasting points of view.

While Perkins said there was a racial bias against Black players in the NBA, Redick countered by saying the former NBA champion was creating a false narrative.

On a recent episode of HBO’s Game Theory, Bomani Jones, an ESPN journalist, weighed in on the issue.

"You're acting crazy like Perk's crazy for bringing it up," he said. "That's what's crazy. This is America, Jack. And I get that Perk and JJ are just talking about the NBA MVP. But chastising us for saying something might be racist in the land where racism was perfected, that's how you get pats on the back from folks I know JJ Redick does not want on his side."

Bomani Jones highlighted that if Redick was trying to argue against racism being a factor in the NBA MVP voting, he might garner attention from people he does not want to be associated with.

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What exactly did Kendrick Perkins and JJ Redick say about the NBA MVP vote?

The debate regarding the NBA MVP has ramped up in the past few weeks as the regular season heads to its conclusion.

Kendrick Perkins hinted in a previous ESPN First Take segment that voters had a racial bias towards white players, referring specifically to Nikola Jokic winning two straight NBA MVP awards.

JJ Redick then argued that sports media platforms such as ESPN should stop creating narratives that do not exist. He went on to highlight how Perkins was implying that the NBA MVP voters favored white athletes, although Perkins then denied the claims during the debate.

The hue and cry, however, has not died down since then.

The NBA MVP race between Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid

Amid the debate, Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid have been playing at an elite level, strengthening their respective cases for MVP.

Nikola Jokic has led the Denver Nuggets (46-22) to the top of the Western Conference, with the team winning six of their last 10 games. However, they are in the middle of a three-game losing streak.

Joel Embiid, on the other hand, has led the Philadelphia 76ers (45-22) to the third position in the Eastern Conference, with the team winning seven of their last 10 games. The Sixers are currently on a five-game win streak, with Embiid averaging 34.4 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 4.4 assists during that stretch.

As such, the way in which the two finish off the season will go a long way in determining who wins the award.