Kevin Garnett Reveals How Bitter Rival’s Arrival Prompted Brotherhood

Kendrick Perkins looked up to Kevin Garnett long before he was an NBA player. He’d start his career being his idol’s rival on the court. When the Boston Celtics acquired The Big Ticket, he had the biggest fanboy reaction. It wasn’t unicorns and rainbows when they were teammates, however. Their personalities clashed, but they also made one of the best super-teams in NBA history and won the championship in 2008.

Garnett spoke about the start of that super-team born out of rivalry with a third of that partnership, Paul Pierce, and their coach Doc Rivers. Just speaking about it on KG Certified wasn’t enough. He went on X to convey how his friendship with Perkins grew.

“Me and Big Perk (@KendrickPerkins) had to figure out being teammates after battling but being able to hash it out is what made our team a real brotherhood and that’s real shyt,” he wrote.

KG started his career with the Minnesota Timberwolves and he was left awed every time he clashed against the Celtics. As he said on KG Certified, “I said man, I’m looking to play with the team I’m used to playing against. And whenever I played against those guys, Paul Pierce, Tony Allen, Kendrick Perkins, I always felt like I got the best team. Because I watch film, I was like man, every time I play Perk, they got into it.”

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He wasn’t aware the admiration was mutual on Perkins’ end. “What I didn’t know is that I was like a big bro without being a big bro.” The honeymoon phase didn’t last too long. KG and Perk had infamous trash-talk bouts. But Garnett says now that there has never been animosity between them. As soon as he arrived in Boston, he and Perkins got all the heated emotions out of the way in their locker room clashes so they could be a stronger team on the court.

Kendrick Perkins’ Big Ticket moment

Their arguments didn’t diminish Perkins’ strong admiration for Garnett. He had the most emphatic reaction when Doc Rivers informed him they’re trading Al Jefferson for Kevin Garnett. Perk had to step back and process the information, during which several people called him to say, “You realize the position you are in? You’re playing with the Big Ticket.” An overwhelmed Perkins called Rivers back and said, “Man I’m tripping like a mother******.” 

This time on KG Certified, Pierce recalled, “When we traded for [Garnett], he was like ‘what’s up with Big Perk?’ I’m thinking Ticket is thinking he might have to go hands with [Perkin].”

The Truth left the show in splits with that comment. They can laugh about it now, but in 2008, that was some serious team-building to win the Celtics a championship.

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