Kendrick Perkins named Jackson State men's basketball GM, keeps ESPN role

Perkins joins the NBA-to-college front-office wave.

Wire Report IntelligenceUpdated Jun 191 min read

NBA

Perkins adds the new GM role to his ESPN position and becomes the latest retired or active NBA player to take an adminis

What happened: ESPN analyst and 14-year NBA veteran Kendrick Perkins has agreed to become the men's basketball general manager at Jackson State, an HBCU, while keeping his ESPN position. According to Shams Charania, Perkins worked closely with Jackson State coach Trey Johnson and athletics director Ashley Robinson to finalize the role.

Why it matters: Perkins is the latest current or former NBA player to take a college basketball administrative job, joining John Wall at Howard, Stephen Curry at Davidson and Trae Young at Oklahoma. The pattern brings pro-level name recognition, connections and recruiting reach to college programs, and lands Jackson State a 2008 NBA champion to help shape its roster.

By the numbers: Recent NBA-to-college front-office moves: John Wall (Howard), Stephen Curry (Davidson), Trae Young (Oklahoma) and now Kendrick Perkins (Jackson State). Perkins played 14 NBA seasons and won a title in 2008.

What to watch: Watch how Perkins balances his ESPN duties with roster-building and recruiting at Jackson State, and whether more NBA names follow into college front offices.

Sources

@ShamsCharania Jun 19, 2:31 PM ET

CONVERSATION

Loading comments…

NBABreakingJackson StateHowardDavidsonKendrick PerkinsJohn Wall

Follow NBA Intelligence

Real-time signals and analysis

@WireReportNBA

WR Pro

The day's sports, briefed to your inbox at 7am ET. Every claim sourced.

$9/month Free weekly newsletter →

Kendrick Perkins named Jackson State men's basketball GM, keeps ESPN role

Sources

More on Kendrick Perkins