The Education of Kendrick Perkins: A Memoir

"Kendrick Perkins is the bold and educational voice we need today. Every single word he speaks will challenge, enlighten and encourage you to become a better version of yourself and see a better version of the world. Perkins' riveting stories about the NBA, his upbringing and social justice will make this book impossible to put down." -- Emmanuel Acho, New York Times bestselling author of Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man

Kendrick "Perk" Perkins is known for his blunt, opinionated, "carry the hell on" commentary on ESPN's most popular shows. As a fourteen year NBA player and starting center for the 2008 NBA champion Boston Celtics, Perk earned a reputation as an enforcer, a fierce defender, and a great teammate. Now, In The Education of Kendrick Perkins, he opens a different side of himself: a powerful and intimate memoir that goes beyond basketball to discuss the reality of being Black in America.

Abandoned by his father, then orphaned after the murder of his mother, Perk was raised by his grandparents in a small Texas town. He left their home at age eighteen, drafted out of high school by the legendary Celtics. For a country boy, Boston was a completely new world, and the NBA a league of legends: Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Kevin Garnett, James Harden, Shaquille O'Neal, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Kevin Durant, and more. Perk had to learn how to play with and against these stars, while adjusting to life on the road as a professional athlete.

But his education went beyond basketball. In this book, Perk reveals his awakening consciousness of larger issues that affected him, his fellow players, and Black Americans:
-How many NBA players grow up in broken families and difficult circumstances
-The history of slavery and how that trauma affects generations of Black life
-The truths told by writers including James Baldwin, Ralph Ellison, Richard Wright, and others
-The false myths about the Black family and fatherhood
-Why George Floyd's murder forced a reckoning about race in America

Honest, fearless, dramatic, filled with stories about life on and off the court, The Education of Kendrick Perkins is a unique memoir that shows how he and we all can "carry the hell on."

Author: Kendrick Perkins
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: 02/21/2023
Pages: 304
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.08lbs
Size: 9.52h x 6.41w x 1.21d
ISBN: 9781250280343

Review Citation(s):
Library Journal Prepub Alert 09/01/2022 pg. 15
Publishers Weekly 12/12/2022
Kirkus Reviews 01/01/2023

About the Author

Kendrick "Perk" Perkins played fourteen years in the NBA and helped lead the Boston Celtics to their first NBA championship since the Larry Bird era. He is widely known as one of the greatest teammates in NBA history and a true star in his role. Since retiring from basketball, Perk has become one of the most unique, charismatic and provocative analysts in sports media. He appears on ESPN's most popular shows, including NBA Today, NBA Countdown, First Take, and Get Up. He lives in Houston, Texas.

Seth Rogoff is a novelist, cultural critic, and professor of media studies at Anglo-American University. He lives in Prague, CZ.