Former NBA star Kendrick Perkins has spoken out about his apparent ban from the Boston Celtics parade.
The former NBA champion was reportedly excluded from the Celtics’ celebrations as they toasted their record 18th title.
3
3
Perkins spent the first eight seasons of his NBA career with the Celtics and was the starting center in their 2008 championship win.
Boston announcer Brian Scalabrine revealed the ESPN analyst would not be in the team’s parade after this season’s triumph.
“It’s not really an open arms thing with Kendrick Perkins,” he said SiriusXM Radio Show The Starting Lineup on the weekend.
“I listened to Scalabrine the other day and I love Scal, but it irritated me,” Perkins told The Mark Jackson Show on Tuesday.
READ MORE ABOUT KENDRICK PERKINS
“I never said I wanted to come! It wasn’t my moment, nor the moments of 2008. It was the moment of 2024. Let them have their moment.”
On Monday, Perkins labeled Scalabrine a “coward” following his comments during the celebrations.
“Right now I feel like Scal is a coward,” Perkins said 98.5 Felger & Mazz from Sports Hub.
“Was I the only member from 2008 who disappeared from the duck boat? [Eddie] House, my man, he was there. Leon Powe, my good friend too, was there.
“Scal was there and Paul [Pierce] it was there. There were still 11 others missing.”
Since moving into sports broadcasting, Perkins hasn’t been afraid to speak his mind.
He was highly critical of the Celtics during the 2022 NBA Finals, which they lost to the Golden State Warriors.
“I have been one of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown’s biggest supporters since they alerted the world when Tatum was a rookie,” Big Perk continued.
“And my problem is that in the last two years they have had their disappointments.
“Therefore, the criticism was justified. It wasn’t like I was just making it up.
“As far as [coach] Joe Mazzulla, I didn’t believe his system could do that.”
First look at the numbers
First Take has grown from strength to strength under the guidance of Stephen A. Smith and Molly Qerim over the past year.
ESPN’s weekday debate show averaged 496,000 viewers in 2023 — making it the most-watched year in the show’s history.
Its December average of 611,000 represented a 24% annual increase compared to 2022.
The show has also recorded more than 250 million views on YouTube.
First Take was helped by the addition of Shannon Sharpe alongside Smith and Qerim after he left Fox Sports’ Undisputed.
“Now I have nothing to say, I mean congratulations to them,” Perkins added.
“But the thing is, Boston fans, they expect you to be married to them for life. Like a feeling of entitlement, like you owe them your life.
“And that’s not the case.”
Perkins is a regular on ESPN’s First Take and Get Up weekday mornings.
He also joins Pat McAfee for a special NBA-related segment every Thursday.
The former center has not returned to Boston by personal choice since the team traded him in 2011, for Horrible ad.
Now 39, he enjoyed stints with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Cleveland Cavaliers and New Orleans Pelicans after leaving Massachusetts.
Perkins retired in 2018 after 16 seasons in the NBA.
He is estimated to have earned $56.8 million during his career, per Spotrac.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
