Here's Emmanuel Acho Fighting Kendrick Perkins Over Luka Dončić's MVP Case

A player of Luka Dončić’s magnitude draws both admirers and skeptics. At the start of this week, two big names in media commanded the spotlight thanks to their differing views on the Los Angeles Lakers superstar.

Apparently, NFL player-turned-analyst Emmanuel Acho has had enough of ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins taking shots at Doncic this season. In particular, Acho took exception to Perkins’ recent comments about Doncic not being All-NBA First Team material.

“I said it was an asinine take,” Acho said on his “Speakeasy” podcast. “Look, Big Perk. All that watching you do…did you watch Luka drop 60? Did you watch Luka drop 40-9-8? Did you watch Luka beat the Rockets, beat the Rockets again, get about eight hours of travel time, beat the Heat, then beat the Magic?”

Acho, who’d clearly been taking notes as Perkins delivered his criticism of Dončić over the past several weeks, dropped even more numbers. “Did you see Luka get five steals, talking about how he don’t play no defense?”

Then, pivoting sharply from statistical breakdowns to rap battle territory, Acho unloaded a sizzling sound bite on the one-time NBA champion: “All that watching you do…what’chu really watching? Just because you got eyes, doesn’t mean you can see, Big Perk!”

The “Speakeasy” host is just the latest analyst to speak up in support of Dončić’s MVP case this year. Radio hosts like Fox Sports’ Jason Smith and even Perkins’ colleagues like Stephen A. Smith have all acknowledged that this could be the year that Dončić takes home the Michael Jordan Trophy. Last week, Smith went so far as to say that he was “ashamed” to have taken so long to recognize Dončić as an MVP contender.

This season, the Slovenian guard leads the NBA in scoring (33.4 points per game, which is indeed a Jordanesque number). At the same time, Dončić also happens to be fourth in assists (8.4 dimes per outing), a testament to the balance that he has achieved between getting his own buckets and setting up his teammates.

Thanks in large part to Dončić’s brilliance, the Lakers (widely viewed as a flawed defensive team throughout this season) have a firm grip on the No. 3 spot in the Western Conference playoffs for the second year in a row. While the likes of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Victor Wembanyama, and Nikola Jokić have all turned in spectacular seasons of their own, it’s highly plausible that Dončić’s recent highlight reel of scoring outbursts will sway voters to cast their votes for him.

When that happens, Acho will be locked and loaded to give Big Perk another earful.