Kendrick Perkins acknowledges Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets as NBA title contenders

Nikola Jokic dropped another masterclass as the Denver Nuggets marched on to the Western Conference finals, eliminating the Phoenix Suns. Jokic put up another triple-double as ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins was quick to realize his mistake and acknowledged the big man’s sensational game.

The Nuggets won by 125-100 against the Suns in Game 6 to advance to the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2020. They now await to play the winners between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors.

Perkins has had too many opinions on the Suns as he predicted them to be the favourites in the West. But he criticized them when they were 2-0 down against the Nuggets. But now with the Nuggets going through, Perkins had accepted that he was in denial.

“I’ve been in denial about Jokic and the Nuggets…but I MUST say that they are LEGIT. Carry the hell on,” Perkins tweeted.

Perkins has had a history with Jokic in the past. The former NBA player has often called Jokic a stat padder and received plenty of backlash from the Denver fans. Perkins also claimed that the voters for the MVP have a racial bias against black players.

His statement went out of hand and therefore ESPN had to rectify his statement on the NBA awards. “When Kendrick Perkins said 80 percent of NBA voters for the MVP award are white,” Molly Qerim said. “The NBA publicly announces the voters each year. And after review, it’s clear the panel is much more diverse than what was portrayed by Kendrick Perkins, and we wanted to make sure we corrected that.”

Jokic finished with 32 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists in Game 6, helping his team win and advance to the finals. They are a genuine contender for the ring, especially with the team they have and also considering Jokic’s form.

Denver’s main man had a superb series against the Suns. He averaged 34.5 points, 13.2 rebounds, 10.3 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.0 blocks per game. His teammate, Jamal Murray also notched up 26 points, four rebounds and four assists. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope also chipped in with 21 points, three assists and five rebounds as the Nuggets decimated the Suns.