The Boston Celtics looked poised to repeat as NBA champions in 2009 after they brought back the same starting roster that won Banner 17 in 2008.
But things became even more difficult after the Celtics lost Kevin Garnett that February for the remainder of the year due to a right knee injury. As Boston started to unravel, a team meeting was held to try to get back on track.
“There was like a disconnect between the older guys and the younger guys on the team,” Paul Pierce said during an appearance on Julian Edelman’s “Games With Names” podcast. “And then I remember Kendrick Perkins said something. All I know, we all were on the plane and all the coaches were on the bus because we were clearing the air. Perk said something that turned on another switch of evil to KG.
“I thought Kevin was going to kill Perk,” he continued. “Like for real, kill him. I saw it in his eyes. It was just the most intense moment.”
Pierce didn’t say what it was Perkins said to set Garnett off, but noted the reason the meeting was called was to address issues off the court that “can’t get into.”
That wasn’t the first time Perkins said something that rubbed someone the wrong way. When the Celtics won Banner 18 in 2024, Perkins wasn’t invited to the championship parade.
“He wasn’t invited to our parade last year, that is true,” Wyc Grousbeck said on the “Club 520″ podcast. “Because he had been giving people a lot of (expletive), and so I had family members of players saying, ‘If that guy’s in the parade, I’m not in the parade.’ So I said, ‘OK, you win.’”
Any off-court issues in 2009 seemingly were pushed to the side as Boston finished second in the Eastern Conference standings. But the Celtics’ title defense came to an end in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
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