Kevin Garnett’s influence on NBA evident in bond with Kendrick Perkins

Kevin Garnett leaves the NBA after 21 seasons, but his impact on the game is more than what he did on the court. He challenged and drove younger players to play just like him.

Jake Fischer | Sep 23, 2016

Kevin Garnett’s influence on NBA evident in bond with Kendrick Perkins /

His gruff voice crackled through the speaker. It’s the only phone interview request that Kevin Garnett granted during his 21st NBA season. Later-stage Garnett has developed the media presence of a mangy house cat; mostly disregarding unfamiliar folk trying to tickle his opinionated thoughts while he primarily cuddles up to cozy storylines. Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan’s retirements warranted responses, but why should a 40-year-old, world champion, league MVP get tangled in discussing the minutiae of each game, each practice?

He frequently changed his cell phone number to avoid unprompted calls. He enjoyed prolonged soaks in the shower to escape postgame media availability. This, however, was a special exception. “Anything for Perk, man,” Garnett says in April of his final NBA season after announcing his retirement Friday.

In 2007, 22-year-old Kendrick Perkins repeatedly slammed his 6' 10", 270 pound frame against Garnett. The clash on the block—elbows and muscle and ear-searing trash talk—endured all evening during the Celtics’ visit to Minnesota that Feb. 11, Garnett’s Hall of Fame resume be damned. “Perk wasn’t afraid of no one,” says former Celtics guard Mike James. “He always made the comment,” says then-Celtics coach Doc Rivers, “‘You may be great, but not tonight.’” Somewhere between their box outs and rim runs, a competitive hatred brewed. “We didn’t really like each other,” Garnett says. “We had a little history.”

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After Minnesota narrowly emerged victorious, the two towering brutes sought each other outside the Target Center locker rooms. They had to be separated. “There wasn’t any physical altercation, but there was some verbal altercation between the two,” says longtime Celtics assistant Jamie Young. Perkins’s barking still rang in Garnett’s ears when Minnesota and Boston discussed their blockbuster trade on draft night that June. The Celtics remained firm: Boston would only exchange the promising Al Jefferson and a hoard of other assets if Garnett agreed to a contract extension.

Talks regained steam in July, with Boston having already acquired sharpshooting, All-Star guard Ray Allen. This time, before making his final decision, Garnett phoned Paul Pierce, having harbored a relationship with the Celtics’ star from previous All-Star weekends and Team USA events, seeking conscience on if Perkins’s character would stand in the way of their championship aspirations. “Kevin was like, ‘What’s up with Perk? Is he gonna want to fight me when I come to the team?’” Pierce says. “I was like, ‘Man, you don’t even know how much he look up to you.’ Kevin inspired a lot of the kids that you see in the league that came out of high school.”

On the other line, Garnett smiled that toothy, often sadistic smile. He always relished battling younger players, channeling the competition as fuel. “When you’re older and the big dog, you got little pups and stuff wanting to come at you night in and night out,” Garnett says. The true motivation for Perkins’s physicality passed Garnett’s first test, although the frontcourt duo’s first day in Boston was still tense. “He was still trying to feel me out, see if he liked me or not, if I liked him,” Perkins says. Unbeknownst to the youngster, Garnett was still evaluating Perkins’s potential as a pupil.

“I wanted to make sure that he was worthy. I’m not gonna take anybody that doesn’t want to work. I don’t like people who complained. I don’t like people who don’t have a work ethic. I don’t do quitters. I wanted to see how he worked on his own,” Garnett says. “He was real receptive to it. Then him and I quickly grabbed the chemistry on the court. Perk was just similar to me. We were grinders, kind of physical specimens. Once I got to Boston, in the East Coast, I knew it was gonna be more of a physical game. But he and I communicated and fed off each other really well. I looked for him a lot. We were both decent passers. Him and I, we gelled quicker on the court, as far as basketball, more than anybody else. Just because we was the two bigs and we was responsible for talking, if not calling out defenses as far as strategies, coverages and stuff like that. That was all on us. Doc put that responsibility on us.”

Rare Photos of Kevin Garnett

Kevin Garnett

KG starred at Farragut Career Academy in Chicago, where he led the squad to a 28-2 record his senior season and earned National High School Player of the Year honors. Though the T-shirt may indicate he had dreams of playing in Ann Arbor, he instead chose to enter the NBA straight out of high school.

Kevin Garnett

Garnett poses outside of Farragut Career Academy. KG played for Mauldin High in South Carolina for his first three seasons but transferred to Farragut before his senior year.

Kevin Garnett

Garnett was named Mr. Basketball for Illinois after averaging 25 points, 18 rebounds, 7 assists and 7 blocks his senior season at Farragut.

Kevin Garnett and William Nelson

Garnett and his Farragut Academy coach, William Nelson, arrive at a news conference to announce Garnett's intention of skipping college to jump directly to the NBA.

Kevin Garnett

Garnett became only the fourth player to jump directly from high school to the NBA, following Moses Malone, Darryl Dawkins and Bill Willoughby.

Kevin Garnett

Garnett was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the fifth pick of the 1995 NBA Draft. KG was joined in the Top 5 by Joe Smith, Antonio McDyess, Jerry Stackhouse and Rasheed Wallace.

Stephon Marbury and Kevin Garnett

Garnett was joined the next year by Stephon Marbury and the two were expected to be the future of the organization. After leading Minnesota to the playoffs in 1997 and 1998, Marbury was traded to New Jersey after a dispute with management.

Kevin Garnett

Garnett's entourage -- called the OBF (Official Block Family) -- includes friends from Beachwood Drive in his hometown of Mauldin, S.C.

Vince Carter and Kevin Garnett

Garnett puts his arm around Vince Carter after leading Team USA to the gold medal in Sydney.

Kevin Garnett and Darius Miles

In 2000, high school star Darius Miles skipped college for the NBA and immediately drew comparisons to Garnett for their style of play. Those comparisons proved to be incorrect as Miles played nine injury-plagued seasons and is now out of the league.

Kevin Garnett and Japanese students

Garnett shows his skills during an NBA clinic in Tokyo.

Latrell Sprewell, Kevin Garnett, and Sam Cassell

After years of first-round playoff exits, Garnett was joined by Latrell Sprewell and Sam Cassell for the 2003-04 season. KG was named NBA MVP after averaging 21 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists. The Timberwolves advanced to the Western Conference Finals before bowing out to the Lakers.

Kevin Garnett

Garnett travels to New Delhi to debut his limited edition 'Adidas KG basketball shoe.'

Kevin Garnett and Serena Williams

Garnett offers words of encouragement to Serena Williams at the Matt Leinart First Annual Celebrity Bowling Night in Hollywood.

Kevin Garnett and Barry Bonds

Garnett chats with Barry Bonds before the 2007 All-Star game in Las Vegas.

Kevin Garnett and David Ortiz

A day after being traded to the Celtics, Kevin Garnett reconnected with his old Minnesota buddy David Ortiz after throwing out the first pitch at Fenway Park.

Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, and Paul Pierce

After the trade, Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce were immediately dubbed "The New Big Three" in Boston and became one of the favorites to win the 2008 NBA title.

Kevin and Brandi Garnett

Garnett poses with his wife, Brandi. The couple married in 2004, which forced KG to miss a chance to defend the gold medal in Athens.

Kevin Garnett

A 15-time All-Star, Garnett finally won his first and only championship in 2008 with the Boston Celtics.

Kevin Garnett

Garnett averaged 20.4 points per game and 10.5 rebounds per game during the 2008 playoffs.

George W. Bush and the Celtics

Garnett and his Celtics teammates meet President George W. Bush after winning the NBA Championship.

Peyton Manning and Kevin Garnett

Garnett poses with then-Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning during a promotional press conference for Wheaties.

Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett

Tim Duncan (left) and Garnett shake hands before a game between the Celtics and Spurs. Garnett and Duncan have dominated the power forward position over the past decade and a half.

Kevin Garnett and LeBron James

Garnett and LeBron James share a laugh on the bus ride to the stadium prior to the 2010 NBA All-Star game in Dallas.

Kevin Garnett

Garnett poses for a portrait as part of the 2011 NBA All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles.

Kevin Garnett

Garnett battles it out at the first ever Call of Duty XP at the Stages at Playa Vista in Los Angeles.

Kevin and Brandi Garnett

Garnett and his wife, Brandi, attend Day 11 of the 2011 U.S. Open.

Rajon Rondo and Kevin Garnett

Fans wearing masks of guard Rajon Rondo and Garnett pose before a game with the Atlanta Hawks in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. Garnett has adopted the city of Boston as his home since his arrival in 2007 and has become a favorite among the Celtics faithful.

Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant (right) and Garnett talk during the NBA All-Star practice in Houston. Garnett made 12 consecutive All-Star appearances from 2000 to 2011.

Rivers remembers his defensive anchors constantly buzzing over rotations and close-outs and pick-and-roll coverages in the locker room before games and even while one sat on the bench while the other manned the paint. While many teams implemented a static defense for high ball-screen actions, Boston allowed Garnett and Perkins to evaluate each opponent on their own. “They believed the five and the four held down the fort and they talked it up in shootaround and in practice and it was pretty interesting,” Rivers says. During the team’s very first practice that fall, Rivers had to whistle live ball action dead on multiple occasions as Perkins matched Garnett’s deafening roars at the second unit. “I don’t think it took Perk very long at all before he had KG’s respect,” Celtics general manager Danny Ainge says.

A big brother-little brother relationship quickly spawned. Perkins embraced his apprenticeship. “I just followed him, I observed him, I watched a future Hall of Famer,” he says. “I watched how he worked, I watched how he operated, I watched his leadership skills.” Perkins mimicked Garnett’s moves in the post. He started arriving at the practice facility earlier, changed his eating habits and, in turn, dropped weight. “He started emulating what KG was,” says Allen.

They spent every waking basketball second together. “It was like seeing a big brother look out for his little brother, take him out to the backyard, let’s go play catch, it looked like that,” Pierce says. Garnett had finally found a disciple with the perfect mental makeup to simultaneously match his manic intensity and high performance level. “They both was crazy,” says former teammate Marquis Daniels. “They fueled each other’s fire.” Perkins’s omnipresence at the back line of Boston’s defense allowed Garnett to jump 12-foot face-ups and switch onto speedy ball-handlers at the perimeter. If he somehow got beat, Perkins was waiting. “I always thought Perk was kind of the man behind the myth there,” says longtime Celtics broadcaster Mike Gorman. “[Garnett] had a cop standing right behind him to take care of business if things didn’t work out.”

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With Boston’s “Big Three” of Garnett, Pierce and Allen, complemented by Perkins and point guard Rajon Rondo, the Celtics raced out to a 29–3 start in 2007–08 and firmly grasped first place in the Eastern Conference throughout the regular season. After opening round playoff battles with the Atlanta Hawks and Cleveland Cavaliers, the Celtics captured the franchise’s 17th championship in six games over their rival Los Angeles Lakers.

As champagne flowed in the TD Garden home locker room, longtime Celtics vice president of media services Jeff Twiss couldn’t sway any of the key contributors to complete Boston’s mandatory podium availability. Nobody wanted to leave the party. “We got into arguments, we got into fights, we wrestled,” Garnett says. “We was young barbarians, man. We was a team full of barbarians. That’s how I always like to explain it. We was like 300. It was us against the world straight out. If you ask anybody from that team, we felt like we was straight up warriors and straight up Greek gods and goddesses and all this other s---.”

Garnett announced his retirement on Friday, likely to fade into obscurity just as the Timberwolves re-ascend on the broad shoulders of another generationally gifted, young 7-footer. If Kendrick Perkins’s development is any indication, Karl-Anthony Towns is destined to defensively stalk the paint for the next decade with a snarl, revving a perpetual motor his teammates will only attempt to equal and Garnett’s pawprints covering his fated accolades.

Published Sep 23, 2016

JAKE FISCHER

Jake Fischer has covered the NBA for Sports Illustrated since May 2015. He is a graduate of Northeastern University and a "just-outside-of" Philadelphia native.