NBA legend Sam Perkins shares stories and hopes for the future
While the country is in the middle of a nervous breakdown, it felt like the perfect time to talk with Sam Perkins. The unflinching hoops legend has done and seen it all in just 59 years. Perkins, a Brooklyn-native, has an easy-going demeanor that belies his tough upbringing. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the country was bitterly divided and plagued by racial and economic injustices. Despite all the noise and danger surrounding him, Perkins found himself on New York City’s blacktops.
“Brooklyn was a world with so many things and so many diverse people. But there were bad elements within the neighborhood, coming from Bedford-Stuyvesant. It was do-or-die, and you had to maneuver yourself throughout the neighborhood like survival of the fittest. There were robberies, people getting snatched, fighting, killings. The most memorable thing I remember was the blackout.” The blackout he is referring to was on June 13–14, 1977. Stores got looted, entire blocks burned, and fear of violence was palpable.
That experience created a general uneasiness that follows Perkins wherever he goes. “It shaped your mind as a young kid to be very careful and cautious. . . So, it’s like being on guard every time you go somewhere else, you feel like this is going to happen wherever you go, even if it’s peaceful.”
After accepting an offer from coach Dean Smith to play at the University of North Carolina, Perkins teamed up with future hall of famers James Worthy and Michael Jordan. The young man went from the concrete jungle to Tobacco Road. Instead of seeing black panthers, he was being confronted by white supremacists. Nevertheless, he put together an impressive resume for a first-generation college student within a few short years: an NCAA Championship, a Sports Illustrated cover, and a diploma from one of the best schools in the country.
Before starting his professional career with the Dallas Mavericks, Perkins was selected to represent the country in the 1984 Olympics. But first, he would have to go through a boot camp of sorts under the incandescent coach Bobby Knight. “Man let me tell you. Bobby Knight was a raging fire. He would change from left to right like you never know how a fire will go. He was definitely different from Coach Smith, but they had the same principles.”
The tales about Knight and the 1984 Olympic team are well-documented. How could “the General” and the tranquil Perkins have gotten along? “He yelled at everybody on the Olympic team, Leon Wood, Michael, my good friend Wayman Tisdale who recently passed away. But he never yelled at me” Perkins recounted with a smile. “So, one day he pulled me to the side and says, ‘My coaches say I haven’t gotten on you. But the reason I haven’t gotten on you is because you never do anything wrong. You’re fundamentally sound, you pass the ball, blah blah blah. So today if I get on you, don’t take it personally.’
So, I get out there and threw the ball away during the practice; now I don’t know if he’s really yelling at me or just doing what he said. It goes to show you he was very personal at times but was a stickler for winning and doing things the right way. And doing things the right way for him was doing them perfect. We were opposites, but we got along pretty good.”
After winning a gold medal in Los Angeles, the fourth overall draft pick of the star-studded 1984 draft class faced baptism by fire in the league. When asked who gave him his “welcome to the NBA moment”, Perkins quickly replied “That’s easy”. His first preseason game was against the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics. “The first cat I had to go against was Robert Parrish, then Kevin McHale and Larry Bird. I got switched on to all three of them in a preseason game. I got to the middle of the court for the jump ball, and Parrish says, ‘What’s up young fella?’ in this deep, chief-type voice. I was like, ‘Oh my god’. For him to acknowledge me and then go kick my butt, I will never forget that experience.”
It was a wake-up call for the 23-year-old, but Perkins quickly adapted to the league. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 1985 and helped lead the Mavericks to the playoffs in 5 of the 6 seasons he spent in Dallas. When it was time to re-sign Perkins in 1990, the organization balked at the opportunity to keep their star forward. “At the time, I didn’t know why they didn’t re-sign me. As time goes on now, I’ve found out why they didn’t. Peers in the NBA have told me that I had a knee that they thought would not last two more years — I had bone on bone — I had tendinitis.”
Their secrecy likely benefited Perkins. “Not knowing all this information, I was strengthening this knee every day. I got a hold of a sports medicine doctor, and he told me what to do. The Mavericks didn’t know this. By the time I got to the Lakers and eventually Seattle, that knee never hurt again.”
Perkins signed with Los Angeles, where he reunited with his old college teammate, James Worthy. It was the last iteration of the Showtime Lakers. “When I got there from the Mavericks it was a whole ‘nother level of playing professionally. You had Kupchak, Jerry West, Buss, A.C. Green, Worthy, Magic, Byron. I had a whole slew of guys… But you were in LA as well, so you had to temper that down and not get too excited because you see all this glitz and glamour.”
It had to have been challenging not to get caught up in the hype. In his first year wearing purple and gold, Perkins found himself in the 1991 NBA Finals, facing Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. In fact, Perkins hit a 3-pointer late in Game 1 to give the Lakers a 1–0 series lead. The late-game heroics helped him earn the nickname of “Big Smooth” thanks to teammate Byron Scott. Unfortunately for the Lakers, their dynastic run was ending, and the Bulls reign of terror was beginning. Jordan won his first championship, and the league was under new management from that point forward.
A few months after the 1991 NBA Finals, the world was shocked and saddened to learn of Magic Johnson’s announcement that he was HIV positive. “It was a blow to us because we didn’t know much about HIV/AIDS at the time. When Magic told us, we were confused. The NBA and the players had to be educated. One time they asked the players if they wanted to play with Magic, and a lot of them resisted because we didn’t know if scratches or blood could cause infection. There were a lot of misconceptions of HIV/AIDS, and we had to go get educated at John Hopkins Institute.”
Perkins will never forget that day. “We were at practice at Loyola Marymount. We were about to get our shots in, and all of a sudden, Coach Dunleavy told us to put the balls away, go right home, and come back and meet at the Forum around 1:30 or 2:00. We didn’t know anything. We got back and sat down in the locker room, and coach told us what happened; then Magic came in and told us. It was like the world just stopped for a minute. It was a sunny day, and then the clouds came in after he told us. I sat there with Tony Smith and Irv Thomas and when were in disbelief. With all that said, it was a tragedy. But Magic made it more of a lesson and tried to be the spokesman for the people that were skeptical and worried about their life at the time.”
After Johnson retired, the Lakers began a rebuild, which sent Perkins to Seattle. “I was on a plane, and it was like the noise of LA was fading into this northwest, Emerald City. It was more quiet, you see lots of families. But it was a diverse city and a unique one as well because people accepted you for who you were.”
Playing for the SuperSonics did so much for Perkins’ career and life. “I was humble because Seattle made me do more thinking — like reading more because the fact that it rained so much” Perkins said with a laugh. “I couldn’t understand why they wanted me — they had a team. But I fit in, and George Karl was a North Carolina guy. He played an inside-outside offense and spread the floor; that’s when things started happening a little bit different. I got acclimated into the community and had a good time.”
True to his inquisitive nature, Perkins tried new things like starting his own radio show on KUBE 93. “The reason why I did the show was because it was something else to do at the time. The music genre I was trying to listen to, Seattle didn’t have.” Perkins used his refined musical palate to diversify Seattle’s airwaves. “The genre I brought up there were things we listened to in New York, LA, or Dallas. At the time, I was listening to Erykah Badu, Eric Benet, Jay-Z, Nancy Wilson, Twalib Kweli, and A Tribe Called Quest. I tried to bring a lot of flavor that you didn’t hear in Seattle.” Eventually, he helped organize an outdoor concert at Golden Gardens, which appealed to residents with different musical interests.
In his third season with the SuperSonics, Perkins got his second shot at a ring. Standing in his way again, Michael Jordan and the Bulls. As noted in the documentary The Last Dance, the Bulls won the chippy series 4–2. Speaking of the documentary, did Gary Payton really slow down Jordan like he claimed, or was Jordan right when he said, “I had no problem with the glove”?
“I gotta give it to Michael. Did he [Payton] slow him down? I don’t know. That’s debatable. I was in The Last Dance when they played us, and it seemed like a dance to me. I didn’t see Gary slow him down, but I think what Gary was pertaining to was that he didn’t get off to a fast start.”
Oh, so Payton was just talking about a slow start to the series? “I hope so” said Perkins with a laugh. “I can’t see him slowing Jordan down. But it was a good series, and it was special for Seattle as well. We wish we could have done better, but Michael and them were too strong for us.”
After five and a half seasons in Seattle, where Perkins played in all but four games, he signed with the Indiana Pacers. In his second season playing under coach Larry Bird, Perkins had his third and final chance to win an NBA championship. “I think my best chance was in LA with Magic. But that was another opportunity to get a ring because we had someone capable of doing things in every position. Mark Jackson, Reggie Miller, Jaylen, Rick Smits, Derrick McKey. We had just about everything. But the Lakers had Shaq and Kobe. They had company and Phil Jackson too.”
As a lifelong Lakers fan, I had to know what it was like trying to guard Shaquille O’Neal. “You ever see a pitcher wrap his shoulder up after 6–8 innings? That’s what it felt like for my shoulder. I had to ice my shoulder after banging on him for a whole game and series. The man was twice as heavy as me, and he was a force. When you lean on him, he can do what he wants. At the same time, I tried stiff-arming him at the free-throw line. But he was probably one of the hardest guys to guard. He, Malone, Kevin McHale, and Hakeem Olajuwon. At that time, he was in his prime, he very mobile and he was determined.”
Perkins must have read my mind because the next question was going to be about Kobe flourishing in the 2000 NBA Finals. “Plus, he had the 1–2 punch with Kobe. Speaking of Kobe, Kobe was on a tear. He had the mindset of a Michael Jordan. I don’t think he demanded things out of his teammates like Michael did. But he was more determined to be the best on the court and try to go at you on his own. He won some games on his own, he made some mistakes, but he’s covered because he was such a hard-worker.”
Time was running out on the interview, and I was panicking, looking at the topics we had not covered yet. So, I started peppering him with questions that had weighed on me over the past few days — like who was the biggest trash talker he faced in his 17-year career? Perkins replied, “Well, it was Gary [Payton].” He continued “then there’s another kid…” he laughed and paused for a second, “…Vernon Maxwell. Then, of course, he mumbles now, but Charles Barkley.”
What about his three different sneaker contracts with Asics, Reebok, and Puma. Was it brand preference or just business? “The Asics thing was my rookie year. They were introducing a new basketball shoe. Everybody went with Nike, and they contacted my agent. They brought my father and me over to Japan. They did the whole nine like they would today. So that’s the story behind that, so yes, it was business.”
Perkins continued, “then Reebok came in, and they were doing their blacktop shoes. They got a couple of us, Reggie Lewis, Dominique Wilkins, Gregg Anthony, Brian Shaw. There was a lady by the name of Joanne Borzakian who was from Boston, and Reebok was headquarted in Boston, so that’s how that happened. After the Reebok thing, Puma came in, and they had Vince Carter as their face. Since we were both Carolina guys, they put me down with Puma. That’s how everything evolved. I never wore Adidas until after the league. And because Nike never came to me, I never wore Nike because of that.”
How would Big Smooth have handled social media back in his playing days? “Social media back then, if they knew what was going on with all of us, they would have to censure some things like they’re doing people now these days.” Fair enough. Now for the question I had been building towards the entire interview — How would his career trajectory have looked had he played in today’s league? He was a sniper from outside, never missed games, and played all four years in college. My theory was he would have made a lot more money and been highly sought after by championship contenders.
“I look at it different. If I’m shooting more threes, and everyone else is shooting threes, it’s not a special thing. Back then, the center was the point of emphasis and I was standing out on the perimeter all alone…Now everyone is expecting it and you don’t have to adjust.” We had to agree to disagree on that one.
With time winding down in the interview, I wanted to cover a few current topics — like the Dallas Mavericks controversy with the national anthem. Perkins didn’t stand for the anthem, so did he catch much static for that? “None at all. I don’t think there was as much emphasis on the flag back then. When I was coming into the league, the religion I knew was Muslim and Jehovah’s Witness. The latter one I took more seriously because my grandmother. So, I didn’t stand for it or put my hand over my heart. Sometimes I would go to the bathroom to make it not so obvious. But when I couldn’t do that, I respected my peers and team and would just stand and turn another way. Later, Mahmoud [Abdul-Rauf] in Denver, he made a big deal about it, and it became more of an issue.”
A few of the many philanthropic causes Perkins supports are the Special Olympics, NBA Cares, and the Sam Perkins Basketball Camp. When the NBA needs a diplomat or peacemaker, they deploy Perkins around the world like he’s Jimmy Carter. He is just as likely to pick up a hammer and build a house as he is to fly across the globe and shake hands with foreign leaders. So how can we get him to run for public office?
Perkins laughed and responded firmly, “You won’t. It’s so scrutinized. I follow it so much more now because all of the detrimental things that have happened. I think as a black player, black man, family man, you listen more now because of your kids. Being a politician, as Barack Obama says, you have to sacrifice a great deal like he did it at the time. Some people are made for it, and some aren’t. I’m not made for it.”
Knowing how much he cared about helping people, my final question was what he wanted to see the Biden administration accomplish over the next four years. Perkins rattled off a laundry list of priorities. “I think more than anything, young people are struggling with college debt. It’s keeping people from getting a good education. The minimum wage is another thing, but it’s all across the board. Those things and healthcare for everyone is probably on people’s minds.”
The generous giant wasn’t done standing up for the little guy. Perkins continued, “The previous administration just did so much damage to everything, they made a mess everywhere and they didn’t clean it up. There’s so many issues — taking kids away from their parents, immigration, allowing DACA to come in here and have a free education. The mindset of the racial tension is so intense now that people are now hardened to the point you don’t know who you’re living next to. Biden can’t do away with racism in four years, but he can temper it and try to help people in need the most.” Amen to that.
I requested 15 minutes, and Perkins gave me a 45-minute interview. We didn’t get to cover so many topics — Like games, coaches, and why the heck he isn’t the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Seriously, check out his stats over 1,286 professional games. Thanks to his longevity and serendipity, Perkins is the Where’s Waldo of the NBA. Turn on just about any Hardwood Classics game on NBATV, and you will likely see him on the court or bench.
Being a part of so many defining moments in basketball history was just his first act. Perkins has spent the last 20 years serving in various roles aimed at giving back to those who need it most. We may not be able to recruit him to politics, but we can count on him to continue doing good in his community. Good luck and Godspeed, Big Smooth.
