The NBA’s end-of-season awards are always subject to lively discussions among fans and analysts alike. However, this year’s awards are more controversial than in the past for several reasons, including an admission from former NBA champion Kendrick Perkins.
Kendrick Perkins Is Being Flamed for His Approach to NBA Awards
The NBA’s end-of-season honors such as Most Valuable Player, Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player, and All-NBA teams are determined by a panel of voters each year. Typically, the deadline for voters to submit their ballots is immediately after the regular season ends and before the play-in tournament begins. After all, these are regular-season awards that are being determined, so the postseason isn’t supposed to factor in at all.
However, since the league had to resolve “Extraordinary Circumstances” grievances filed by Luka Dončić and Cade Cunningham to determine their eligibility for awards, that deadline was delayed. Instead of the votes being due on the final day of the regular season, it was moved to 3 p.m. ET on Friday before the final two play-in games tip-off. This delay set off a chain reaction that has somehow led Perkins to change the way he’s approaching his ballot.
According to Perkins, who was a member of the 2008 Boston Celtics championship squad and is now an ESPN analyst, the results of Friday’s play-in game will affect how he votes. Specifically, if the Charlotte Hornets manage to beat the Orlando Magic for the eighth seed, LaMelo Ball will earn his vote for a spot on the All-NBA third team.
“Seriously if they win the play-in game tomorrow and they make the postseason, he’s getting a vote from me for Third Team All-NBA,” Perkins stated on the “Road Trippin'” podcast.
There are two problems with this, though. One, the deadline for the votes is before that particular game even begins. Two, again, these awards are only for the 82-game regular season. The NBA world quickly chimed in and wondered why he has a ballot.
“How on earth does he have a vote when he doesn’t know how the criteria works?” Tyler Schwartz, host of “The Floor Spacer” podcast, tweeted.
How on earth does he have a vote when he doesn’t know how the criteria works? https://t.co/W4VZHiSbuj
— Tyler Schwartz (@tschwartz09) April 16, 2026
“Can’t believe he can vote,” one influencer added.
“Change the voters please,” another person posted.
“This is not how end of season awards are supposed to work,” one user pointed out.
This is not how end of season awards are supposed to work. https://t.co/FUZbAWH6NR
— ᵂᴵᴸᴸ (@BiasedHouston) April 16, 2026
That same sentiment was echoed by another tweet that said, “🗣️ IT IS A REGULAR SEASON AWARD.”
Perkins isn’t the only notable media member to admit that the play-in tournament has affected how they’ll vote. Fox Sports commentator Rachel Nichols also tweeted that the play-in games that have already concluded will affect her voting.
“No, play in games aren’t supposed to influence votes anyway; yes, voters are human and like it or not, this week some players have made some statements – good and bad – about their candidacy,” she wrote.
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One person then asked her if she just admitted to allowing the play-in tournament to affect her judgment for regular-season awards, and then urged the NBA to take away her vote.
Nichols fired back: “Totally. As an analyst, I’m doing my job and noting a first-time-in history factor in voting that at least a half-dozen high level male analysts noted after the Charlotte win. But take the lady’s vote! (Dude, your post is silly & not helped by the lack of grammar skills.)”
