Although his prime was brief, plenty of people forget how good prime Kendrick Perkins was for a role player in a championship-contending team. The man played a considerable role in the Boston Celtics winning the Championship in 2008 and reaching the Finals in 2010.
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Yet, maybe because of his memories from his last few years in the league or perhaps his “expert” opinion on ESPN these days, fans have lost all respect for the guy, like he was just a role player in the NBA who never mattered.
Ben Affleck would not let you do that anymore though.
Kendrick Perkins is in Ben Affleck’s top-10 Celtics players of all-time … in 2k
Hollywood superstar Ben Affleck, who happens to be a big sports fan and an avid Boston Celtics fan, recently had a one-on-one interview with ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins to promote his upcoming film Air.
After talking about the biopic about the story of Nike owner Phil Knight’s pursuit of rookie Michael Jordan, Perkins threw a funny question at the Batman actor.
“Outside of me, who is your favorite Celtic of all time?” Perkins asked. To which Affleck hilariously replied, “there’s nobody outside of you. You in my top 10. The 10 of my top 10 is you. 09-10 Kendrick Perkins, I’d put up against anybody in 2K.”
Watch it here.
.@KendrickPerkins had his first-ever sit-down interview with Ben Affleck 👏
(via NBA Today) pic.twitter.com/X5ZJiFTHyj
— ESPN (@espn) March 20, 2023
Affleck might just be trolling Perkins when he said he is in his top 10 because Perk asked the question in such a way. However, his career was quite respectable for a role-playing big man who played alongside four All-Star caliber players.
Perkins was a terrific role player
Believe it or not, Perkins was a huge defensive presence and a vocal leader in the Celtics franchise that also had Kevin Garnett. Not only the 6ft 10’ man was the starting 5 of the KG, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Rajon Rondo-led team, he played an integral role in their 2008 championship success against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Moreover, his injury against the Lakers in Game 6 of the 2010 Finals is considered to be the turning point of the series that ended in the Kobe Bryant-led team’s favor. The Celtics had a 3-2 lead in the series by then.
By the end of his career, three different teams with Perkins playing for them from the bench or was a big locker room presence, reached the NBA Finals. That cannot be just luck.
