Not long after the 2021-22 season ended, Kendrick Perkins came out with a way-too-early claim about Los Angeles Lakers superstar Anthony Davis bagging the MVP award this season. Well, that audacious prediction was extremely short-lived after Big Perk decided to backtrack on his bold claim after seeing just one Laker game.

To be fair, Perkins is basing his backpedaling on the fact that the defending champs Golden State Warriors completely blew out the Lakers on opening night. Davis and Co. did look overmatched against a powerhouse Dubs side, and this was enough for Perkins to refute his own earlier claim (h/t Ryan Menzie of FanNation):

“I'll tell you why I'm not picking Anthony Davis as my MVP anymore,” Perkins said. “It's not that I don't have belief in Anthony Davis, it's the roster he has around him. In order to win the MVP award your team needs to have a winning record. I think Anthony Davis will remind people who they are. But let's face reality, the Lakers are trash. The Lakers can possibly start the season off 0-6 with the schedule they have.”

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In an attempt to save face, Perkins claims that his belief in Davis' immense talent remains unwavering. However, he doesn't think that AD is going to bag the MVP crown anymore simply because of the team he has around him. It doesn't matter to Perk that Davis is teammates with the great LeBron James. In his mind, Big Perk clearly believes that it's going to be yet another disastrous season for the purple & gold.

After the Warriors on opening night, the Lakers get the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday. Their next four games after that are against the Portland Trail Blazers, the Denver Nuggets (twice), and the Minnesota Timberwolves. According to Perkins, LeBron James and the rest of his squad could be staring at an 0-6 record at the end of the month.