Kendrick Perkins on his mom getting killed by her best friend: "At the age of 5, I was up for adoption!", opens up about grandparents
Kendrick Perkins got very real in a recent video, putting aside the hot takes and the pot-stirring fans are accustomed to from the former NBA champ. In a video posted on Instagram, Perkins spoke about the death of his mom when he was a child.
Perkins grew up with his grandparents on their farm after being put up for adoption. What many fans may not know is that the outspoken big man's father, Kenneth Perkins, was a professional basketball player in New Zealand. Notably absent from his son's life, it fell on the future NBA player's grandparents to raise him.
He spoke about his mom's death, and his life with his grandparents in the wake of the tragic murder:
"What you have to realize is that, 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. And 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."
This isn't the first time Perkins has been open about his mom's murder. When a Twitter user criticized him saying that AD and LeBron James would be on "The First 48" for destroying their opponents, he fired back.
@KendrickPerkins Please Don't make jokes about murder and body's everywhere my brother read this an had a PTSD flashback break down. He was at the last Vegas harvest concert.. thanks
@Jerry01362497 Okay... my mother was murdered by her best friend when I was 5 years old!
You can view his comments in the video below shortly after the eight-minute 15-second mark.
Kendrick Perkins' sons endured criticism during his NBA career
Kendrick Perkins has a great relationship with his two sons, unlike his own father. As the veteran big man recalled early last year, during his career with the OKC Thunder, his sons endured criticism as a result of his play.
While he started for the Thunder for three seasons, Perkins was already nine seasons into his career by that point. As a big man, unsurprisingly, his production wasn't what it was early on in his career when he won a championship with the Boston Celtics.
"I actually have a 14-year-old and 10-year-old that were there and had to go to school while I was in Oklahoma City and get bashed. And my kids used to come home and say, 'Dad, my friend was like, 'You Kendrick Perkins' son? Your dad sucks.'
"But it's those uncomfortable conversations that you have to deal with. Again, this is what you signed up for."
The comments were made in response to Russell Westbrook being harassed by critics and heckled with jeers of "Westbrick" from fans. As Westbrook complained at the time, the harassment was something that he believed would affect his legacy for his children.
The way Perkins saw things, fielding criticism is just part of the job.
You can view his comments in the video below, beginning around the 2:32 mark.