Kendrick Perkins is focused on his health after admitting that his weight recently got out of control.
The ESPN analyst Perkins appeared this week on the “Road Trippin'” podcast with his former Cleveland Cavaliers teammate Channing Frye. During the episode, Perkins got real about his weight and his overall health, revealing that a recent visit to the doctor “scared the s–t” out of him.
“I went to the doctor, had a check-up,” said Perkins, per Awful Announcing. “And he’s like, your [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.’
“I got on the scale, and I was 406,” Perkins continued. “406 pounds. I was like, ‘What the f–k.’ And it scared the s–t out of me.”
Perkins later added that he has since been making some lifestyle changes, including cutting out sugary sodas, walking thousands of steps daily, and taking GLP-2 for his Type 2 diabetes. He also noted that he is on Ozempic and has now lost 22 pounds (with “90 more to go,” Perkins says).
Now 40 years old, Perkins last played in the NBA in 2018. He was officially listed at 270 pounds during his playing career, which would mean that he gained over 135 pounds in retirement (at one point).
Earlier this summer, Perkins made some ironic comments saying that a current NBA star should lose weight. But at least Perkins is now doing so himself as well as he actively prioritizes his own personal health and well-being.
