The former NBA star Kendrick Perkins was born into Ercell Minix and Kenneth Perkins in 1984 in Texas, destined to shine in America’s one of the most entertaining sports industries but not without sacrifice or hardship.
Perkins made his debut for the Boston Celtics and continued his journey in the NBA for the next 14 years. In the meantime, he was crowned as the champion in 2008 and established himself as a dominant center of his time in the league.
However, his success came with a heavy burden he carried from his childhood, which he revealed in a recent interview with Stephen A. Smith.
What did Kendrick Perkins say?
When talking about the 38-year-old’s childhood, we can instantly recollect a previous confession from the former professional in a Twitter comment three years ago.
Okay… my mother was murdered by her best friend when I was 5 years old!
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) March 5, 2020
In an episode of Stephen A. Smith Podcast, the center revealed the pathetic incident that happened to his mother, Ercell. “My mom was shot and killed by her best friend….like in the duplex that she stayed in, her best friend stayed in the apartment right underneath her,” Kendrick said.
He continued sharing his childhood with Smith, “So, at the age of five, I was up for adoption, and my grandparents took me in.”
“My grandmother made $40 to $60 a week being a housekeeper, and my grandfather was the janitor at the church that pulled in $350, and so my grandparents did a hell of a job,” the 6.10-footer became emotionally grateful.
Through this hardship in his early life, Perkins learned to be independent, and his work ethic emits such moral strongpoint. Perkins became the third-ranked player in the AAU circuit in his school basketball career after LeBron James and Chris Paul.
His altar service in a catholic church where his grandmother worked also shaped him into a man of principle and character. Kendrick’s struggle with the short alb compared to his height pushed him to be the Perk he molds himself later in his professional career.
The center scored, on average, 5.4 points with 5.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game in his 782 career appearances in NBA. Now he is a sports analyst for ESPN and the owner of Beaumont Panthers, a franchise of The Basketball League.
