Kendrick Perkins career as a broadcaster is about to reach a higher level.
ESPN announced Tuesday in a press release the former Boston Celtics center has joined the network for its NBA coverage in the 2019-20 season. Perkins primarily will serve as an analyst on the digital show “Hoop Streams,” which will lead into broadcasts of high-profile NBA games on ESPN and ABC, but also will appear on other shows and platforms.
Perkins also announced his ESPN move Tuesday via Twitter.
Perkins spent the first seven-plus seasons of his 14-year NBA career with the Celtics. He was an influential member of the team, helping Boston win the 2008 NBA Finals. The Celtics in February 2011 traded him to the Oklahoma City Thunder, with whom he played another three-plus seasons. He had subsequent stints with the Cleveland Cavaliers and New Orleans Pelicans and retired from the NBA in after playing just one game in 2017-18.
Perkins has shot to renewed stardom in recent months as an NBA analyst, using his extensive contacts to break big stories and offering his insights in the no-nonsense manner in which he played. He did some freelance work for ESPN and FS1 last spring, but the Worldwide Leader will house his talents exclusively this season.
Meanwhile, ESPN also will retain Paul Pierce as an NBA analyst. The Celtics legend will appear on “NBA Countdown” this season, dispelling rumors the network was planning to drop him from the pregame show.
