Some players enjoyed a lazy extended off-season, gaining a little bit of weight during the NBA lockout.
Not Kendrick Perkins.
He worked off 30 pounds during the offeseason and reported to Oklahoma City Thunder camp looking like a different player than during last season’s run to the Western Conference finals.
Perkins was up to 298 pounds after missing most of last season following knee surgery, and he had hoped to get down to 275 for training camp. He ended up losing more during the extended offseason and reported at 267 pounds, looking like an entirely different player.
“I just worked hard this summer. I was disappointed in myself last year in the playoffs,” he said. “I don’t like to blame anything on injuries but at the same time, I was out there so I should have made a difference. I just wanted to come back healthy and give it a shot … and just to show what I could do and be more productive.”
Perkins said he spent about three hours many mornings during the offseason lifting weights and doing conditioning work to help get him out of his knee braces, then he’d get up shots and play pickup games whenever he could. He also hired a nutritionist to help get him slimmed back down to 275 pounds.
“I was just eating whatever I wanted. You have to change up your diet a little bit. But there was a lot of things that was healthy on the menu that I actually liked,” Perkins said. “I feel a ton better. … It’s just a sacrifice you’ve got to put in.
“You’ve really just got to be honest and look yourself and look yourself in the mirror and go from there.”
At the end of last season in Oklahoma City, the 6-foot-9 Perkins was struggling to jump high enough to dunk. He’s not expecting to be in the slam dunk contest this season, but he’s at least back on the right track.
“Obviously, when you get lighter, you move quicker and you jump higher. I’ve never been a real leaper but I’ve got some kind of hops now,” Perkins said. “It’s all good.”
– Associated Press
