You might think the glory days of the Los Angeles Lakers – Boston Celtics rivalry were in the 1980s, but like former Celtics big man Kendrick Perkins, you’d be wrong.
After the roster came together like Voltron in the summer of 2007 and the resulting team steamrolled its way through the NBA and to Boston’s record 17th title, it was time to do the media tour.
That of course had a pit stop at the ESPYs, ESPN’s annual sporting award show, recorded in Los Angeles, California. Evidently thinking nothing of the location’s potential for shenanigans, Perkins and his wife made the trip.
“When we won it, we had to go out to the ESPYs,” Perkins began via the Athletic’s Joe Vardon.
“I flew out to the ESPYs with my wife, and we were on our way back, and man I was waiting on my bags when we landed back in Houston and my bags were all cut up. My shoes and stuff were gone. Everything. I actually was traveling with my Celtic bag that had the Celtic logo on there that said ‘Perkins,’ so at LAX they actually cut up my bag, took my shoes and clothes and everything out of there.”
“That’s how I knew it was a rivalry. And when my bag came, I was like, ‘Man, what happened to my bag?'” concluded the Beaumont native.
There would be some opportunities for revenge later on, but bad luck and injuries would derail Perkins — and the Celtics — opportunities for comeuppance in the years to come.
In fact, a knee injury to Perk ending up being instrumental in his being shipped out to the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2011 as the door was closing on both team’s contention windows.
Whatever scores there are to be settled between the old rivals will have to wait for another generation, and with both franchises on the upswing in the short term, we might not have to wait that long, either.
[lawrence-related id=33083,33063,33034,32982]