Though Kendrick Perkins and Kevin Garnett have a great bond, they don’t always see eye to eye. During a recent appearance on the Knuckleheads x KG: Certified podcast episode, the two shed light on their rivalry and how it resulted in them not speaking to each other for several weeks despite being on the same team.
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Perkins revealed that Garnett was the first player to “bust his a**.” During a contest between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Boston Celtics, the two players nearly got involved in a physical altercation. Perkins said,
“I’m just getting in the rotation. Me and Ticket started bumping heads from Day 1. We get to Minnesota, man, Ticket gave me that work. He talking big sh*t… We damn near about to go to blows.”
This same rivalry was the reason behind the two big men not talking to each other for weeks after Garnett was acquired by the Celtics in 2007. However, after 3 weeks of giving each other cold stares, a win against the Toronto Raptors in the preseason game got the two on good terms.
“People don’t realize the first three weeks that he got to the Celtics, me and this (inaudible) don’t even talk. The first time we had a real conversation was after our first preseason game in Italy when me and him, we went on the floor and we took it as a regular season game… I came out there with like 12 and 3. Ticket had him a double-double, talking sh*t. It was right there like ‘sh*t, this my dog’.”
After keeping their differences aside, Perk and KG grew close. Their friendship also translated to better on-court chemistry, helping the Boston side win the title that very season.
Kendrick Perkins lauds Kevin Garnett to this day
The Big Ticket was a tough individual to please. But after players earned his respect, Garnett took them under his wings and was a great mentor. Perkins was one such player, fortunate enough to be in KG’s good books. In the 3 and a half seasons that Perk was on the Boston Celtics, he learned a lot under Garnett’s mentorship.
Recently, Perk even revealed how he learned to “lock in” after closely studying KG.
“Man, when I tell you KG taught me so much on how to lock in; he’s the definition of that term locked in. It’s like an on-and-off switch,” Kendrick said on The Mark Jackson Podcast, per Basketball Network.
KG has a decorated resume–15 All-Star appearances, a DPOY, an MVP, and a championship. And this ability of his to lock in as the game began played a huge role in allowing him to be successful.
