We may not be able to call Kendrick Perkins by the name “Big Perk” for much longer.
This summer, the ESPN NBA analyst has been taking advantage of the offseason to get his body right after a scare at the physician’s office. In the latest episode of his Road Trippin’ podcast, Perkins revealed how his eating habits led to a troubling diagnosis that his doc told him could take years off his life.
“I’ve been on this ‘Get Perk right’ thing for the last four or five weeks, right? And getting myself together,” Perkins explained.
“I went to the doctor, had a check-up. Long season. I got to the doctor and … they pinch your finger, then they put it in this thing or whatever. And he’s like, you’re (blood) sugar is like 300 (milligrams per deciliter). You have Type 2 diabetes. And he’s like, ‘Oh by the way, the route that you’re going, you’re taking like five to ten years off your life.'”
When Perkins stepped on the scale following the conversation, he saw the number 406.
“It scared the sh*t out of me,” Perkins said. “But I was like you know what, let me get off my bullsh*t.”
In response, Perkins has traded sugary sodas for fruit and vegetable juices. He walks thousands of steps per day and started taking a GLP-2 to treat his diabetes.
“I’ve been on it. I’m down 22 pounds, and I’ve got about 90 more to go,” Perkins added. “Obviously, the Ozempic helped. I gotta take that for both. Me being diabetic, I’ve gotta take that.”
Perkins is an easy punching bag in sports media because he wears his heart on his sleeve and doesn’t shy away from bold takes. However, his long-term health is a whole other matter, and nobody wants to see the NBA on ESPN star unwell.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.