Kendrick Perkins made an untimely prediction regarding Los Angeles Lakers player Anthony Davis winning the MVP award this season not long after the 2021–22 season had completed. That big prediction was, however, made very quickly as Big Perk decided to retract it after seeing just one Laker game.
Fair enough, Perkins is justifying his reversal by pointing to the Lakers’ opening-night thrashing by the Golden State Warriors, the defending champions. Perkins was able to dispute his own earlier statement by pointing out that Davis and company indeed appear outmatched in comparison against a dominant Dubs team (h/t Ryan Menzie of FanNation):
“I’ll tell you why I’m not picking Anthony Davis as my MVP anymore,” Perkins said. “It’s not that I don’t have belief in Anthony Davis, it’s the roster he has around him. In order to win the MVP award your team needs to have a winning record. I think Anthony Davis will remind people who they are. But let’s face reality, the Lakers are trash. The Lakers can possibly start the season off 0-6 with the schedule they have.”
Remember that time @KendrickPerkins said Anthony Davis would win NBA MVP?
Things change fast pic.twitter.com/4SP3hZN1XK
— First Take (@FirstTake) October 20, 2022
In an effort to preserve face, Perkins asserts that his admiration for Davis’ extraordinary brilliance has never wavered. He does not, however, believe that AD will win the MVP award any longer just because of the team he is surrounded by. Perk doesn’t care that Davis plays with the legendary LeBron James. Big Perk unmistakably thinks that the purple and gold are in for yet another terrible season.
The Los Angeles Clippers visit the Lakers on Thursday after the Warriors on opening night. After that, they will play the Portland Trail Blazers, Denver Nuggets (twice), and Minnesota Timberwolves in their following four contests. Perkins predicts that at the end of the month, LeBron James and the rest of his team may have a 0-6 record.
After the Warriors’ rout, Kendrick Perkins instantly retracts his statement that Anthony Davis was the MVP, according to ClutchPoints.
