Bob Myers came to the defense of Kendrick Perkins after Stephen A. Smith interrogated him about his teenage weight during an on-air conversation about Gregg Popovich.
During an episode of NBA Countdown on Friday night (May 2), ahead of Game 6 of the Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors playoff series, Smith, Perkins and the former Warriors GM were having a conversation about Popovich stepping down as the San Antonio Spurs’ head coach.
Perkins shared a story about the first-time he met him as a teenager. “My story with Pop actually happened when I was 18 years old,” he explained. “[Oklahoma City Thunder GM] Sam Presti used to drive down to old Beaumont, Texas, when he was a scout for the San Antonio Spurs, and watched me in high school. And during my draft workouts, I had to go to San Antonio, right? And so when I got there, Pop was in there, and he said, ‘Hello, you ready to work?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, I’m ready to work.’ And he said, ‘Well, one go to the weight room. ‘So, first thing that they did was body fat, right? I didn’t pass the test.”
Perkins continued on, explaining more about his early interaction with Popovich: “So, my entire workout changed and was straight conditioning. And I remember Pop said, ‘I’ll see you in about a month for your second workout.’ Because the plan, Bob, they had the late first-round pick at the time, and they was going to pick me. But that woke me up, and the next time I worked out in front of Gregg Popovich, I got a guarantee from the San Antonio Spurs. So, he’s always been that truth teller.”
Smith took the chance to hop in and ask Perkins a question. “Forgive my curiosity, would you mind informing us of what your body percentage–” he began, at which point Myers jumped in after guessing what Smith was going to ask. “Don’t do that,” he said, instructing Perkins not to reveal what his body fat percentage was at the time.
Perkins wasn’t fazed and decided to anyway. “I’ll tell you,” Perkins said to Smith. “I’m not ashamed. You know what I mean? I’m comfortable. I was at 26%, and when I came back, I was at 15%.”
Smith’s question comes after he registered almost 30% body fat himself a few years ago. In an interview last year, Smith revealed his body transformation after being nearly diabetic.
“That was me a year ago, ladies and gentlemen,” he said, speaking while a picture of himself before he began his weight loss journey flashed up on the screen. “Yeah, that was your boy Stephen A. I can’t even tell you how bad I was. Nearly 30 percent body fat. A cholesterol level over 300. And .1 point away from being a full-blown diabetic. And that was after I had Covid, which damn near killed me.”
In a second video, in which you can actually see him speaking, Smith revealed his slimmer physique. “This is a year later,” he explained. “As you can see, times have changed.”
Klook.com
