SouthernWorldwide.com – Former NBA center and current ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins found himself in the middle of an altercation during a recent AAU basketball game his son was participating in, held in Norman, Oklahoma.
While Perkins is recognized on television for his willingness to engage in spirited sports debates with his colleagues, a video surfacing from the AAU game, shared by TMZ Sports, depicts the 6-foot-10 former player being restrained while vociferously addressing an individual not visible in the footage.
Perkins serves as a coach for his son’s YPG Perkins team. The game had become intense against their opponents, Swaveway Playaz. However, a non-basketball related foul escalated the situation, pushing the 2008 NBA champion to his limit.
The video clearly shows Perkins shouting towards someone, with coaches from his team intervening to pull him away and de-escalate the tension.
Following the widespread circulation of the video, Perkins addressed the incident on social media.
“Damn right, and it probably won’t be the last time!” Perkins posted on X. “I’m going to protect every single kid in my organization like they’re my own.”
Perkins also elaborated on the altercation during an appearance on ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show,” reiterating his commitment to safeguarding his players.
“We’re in a tournament; it’s a heated game. 17U, they’re going back and forth or whatever,” Perkins explained. “We end up winning the game, all right cool. The other team, they had this guy who’s like 7-foot, 400 pounds. After the game, he comes and he body slams one of my kids who plays for my team. I stay seated and then I get up ‘cause everybody’s running around. The players, they’re about to fight. So, as a responsible owner of the organization, I get up and, ‘Hey man, y’all need to chill,’ X-Y-Z. I’m grabbing my players. I tell the coach of the other team, ‘Hey bro, get your players. I got mine.’ He pops off. ‘I ain’t getting nothing, I ain’t getting nothing. Who the hell are you.’”
“The kid that got slammed to the ground, his parents weren’t at the game. So, his parents trusted me with their child. So, I gotta protect that child as if he’s mine. I’m going to stand up for him, even though I didn’t go over there with bad intentions, I gotta make sure that kid is OK and he makes it back home to his parents. He’s a young man, but again, he plays in my organization. So, I gotta make sure, by any means necessary, that he’s safe.”
Prior to his career as an on-air analyst discussing the NBA, Perkins, originally from Texas, played 14 seasons in the league. He was instrumental in helping the Boston Celtics secure the 2008 championship title.
He spent a significant portion of his career, eight seasons, with the Celtics. During this time, he averaged 6.4 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, establishing himself as a starting center for the team.
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In the 2010-11 season, Perkins was traded from the Celtics to the Oklahoma City Thunder, where he played for five seasons. His NBA career also included stints with the Cleveland Cavaliers and the New Orleans Pelicans before his retirement from professional basketball.
