First Take on ESPN is one of the quintessential morning debate shows in sports television history. After launching the names of Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith into world-renowned brands, the daily broadcast reached new heights, culturally, when the show's producers, host, and guests began to implement highly contested topics regarding social and political occurrences in the United States of America. The astoundingly subjective argument between Skip Bayless and Jalen Rose (2012) about name-calling and journalistic credibility remains one of the most viewed verbal spats ever. But in the years that followed, Will Cain upped the ante during his tenure as an on-air contributor to the show when he got into it with Stephen A. Smith and his former co-host (and Skip Bayless' replacement) Max Kellerman. Their verbal altercations shimmered over a litany of newsworthy affairs that walked dangerously close along the blurred lines of social commentary. With Will Cain in the fold, the co-hosts broached topics about Donald Trump's presidency, the Washington R*dskins team name, Hue Jackson vs. Baker Mayfield, and more. In each of those instances, things got testy and personal on the air en route to becomig a viral moment on social media.
With former contributors on First Take such as Max Kellerman and Will Cain drifting further into the show's past, other quotable pundits have filled the void across the table from Stephen A. Smith with a uniquely astute perspective. Commentators like Christopher "Mad Dog" Russo, Kendrick Perkins, and JJ Redick have all provided First Take with a spark as the show continues in its 16th season running.
JJ Redick has given fans of the show a few viral gems as of late. Two weeks ago, the former Los Angeles Clipper made headlines with his adamant oppositional view against "Mad Dog" Russo, when he stated that Larry Bird is not one of the greatest three-point shooters of all time. Despite the fact that Larry Bird won the NBA's first, second, and third three-point contests after the competition was added to the NBA All-Star weekend back in the mid-80s.
JJ Redick's hot take on Tuesday morning carried a much different undertone. Last week on the show, Kendrick Perkins implied that the NBA (MVP) voters favored White MVP candidates after referencing Larry Bird as a three-peat MVP recipient (84, 85, & 86) and Steve Nash's back-to-back award-winning seasons (2005 &2006). Perkins stated his belief in support of the viewpoint that the league's reigning two-time MVP Nikola Jokić, would likely be adding to his trophy case with the prestigious award no matter how well the other two leading MVP candidates, like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid, play down the stretch of the regular season. So, when Stephen A. Smith and his guests re-visited the topic of who should win MVP during Tuesday's episode, JJ Redick fired back at his former NBA colleague, confronting him directly about the accusation that NBA (MVP) Award voters who are White have an agenda while letting both of his co-panelists know that he took offense to that notion.
Scroll up and skip ahead to the 6:40 mark to watch the heated debate between JJ Redick and Kendrick Perkins.
Source: ESPN
