Perkins Says International Stars Have Taken Over NBA as Wembanyama Drops 27 in Game 5
Updated
Updated · Fox News · May 13
Perkins Says International Stars Have Taken Over NBA as Wembanyama Drops 27 in Game 5
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · May 13
Kendrick Perkins said on ESPN's First Take that international players have "completely taken over" the NBA after Victor Wembanyama powered San Antonio past Minnesota 126-97 in Game 5.
Wembanyama finished with 27 points, 17 rebounds, five assists and three blocks, pushing the Spurs within one win of the Western Conference Finals and prompting Perkins to call him the league's best two-way player.
Perkins argued the trend is already visible in the MVP race: no American-born player has won since James Harden in 2018, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is favored to win a second straight award.
The comments framed Wembanyama, Jokic, Giannis, Embiid, Luka Doncic and Gilgeous-Alexander as evidence that the NBA's top tier is now led by foreign-born stars, with Perkins saying Americans may not reclaim that status for 10 years.
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