Kendrick Perkins has lashed out at people calling him rɑcist for his take on the Joel Embiid vs. Nikola Jokic MVP debate last season.

Kendrick Perkins got into hot water earlier this year while saying that NBA MVP voters are rɑcist during a tight race between Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid.

Perkins has addressed those comments and categorically said that rooting for someone with your own skin color isn’t the same as being rɑcist.

“Me and JJ got into a heated debate. I love JJ, but the only problem I had was that he said I ‘accuse’ people of being rɑcist. I don’t accuse anybody of that. Correct me if I’m wrong, rɑcist means that you hate someone of another color.

“When Obama ran for President, I know Black people that never voted in their life, me personally, I never voted. You know how I rushed to vote for Obama because I wanted to see a Black President? Just because you may be rooting for someone of your own kind doesn’t make you rɑcist.”

In support of his rɑcist claims, Perkins provided flimsy examples of white MVPs from today’s leagues who don’t rank in the top ten in scoring, which drew criticism from JJ Redick and intensified the debate.

Perkins publicly pushed for Embiid to be named MVP of the regular season, and this is exactly what happened. Jokic chose to focus on winning a championship instead, which is outside the control of league voters.