Kendrick Perkins has taken on a new role that will see him head to the sidelines of college basketball as a general manager.
According to Shams Charania, the ESPN analyst and 2008 NBA champion has agreed to become the men's basketball general manager at Jackson State University, making him the first GM in the HBCU program's history.
"I'm thankful for this opportunity to impact young lives and pour back into my community," Perkins said (via Charania's report shared on X).
Perkins will pull double duty, keeping his seat as an NBA studio analyst at ESPN while taking on the GM role at the Jackson State SWAC program in Jackson, Mississippi.
His new role carries an ambassador-style dimension. Perkins' primary function will center on connecting Jackson State players to professional networks and raising the program's visibility, per ESPN. He will also have a tie to the university's broadcast and journalism program.
Perkins worked alongside head coach Trey Johnson and athletic director Ashley Robinson to put the new position together. Johnson himself is a relatively fresh face in the role, having been promoted from associate head coach to head coach in April following Mo Williams' departure. He was also a player on Jackson State's last NCAA Tournament team in 2007.
The program went 12-21 in the 2025-26 season, giving Perkins and Johnson a clear rebuild to manage.
Kendrick Perkins spent 14 seasons in the NBA, drafted 27th overall out of Clifton J. Ozen High School in Beaumont, Texas in 2003. He never played college basketball, entering the draft directly after being named a McDonald's All-American. He won the NBA title with the Boston Celtics in 2008 as their starting center and joined ESPN as a studio analyst in October 2019.
Perkins is the latest in a growing wave of former NBA players stepping into college GM and advisory roles during the NIL and revenue-sharing era. Steph Curry holds a similar post at Davidson, John Wall at Howard, Damian Lillard at Weber State, Shaquille O'Neal at Sacramento State, Trae Young at Oklahoma, Terance Mann at Florida State, and Pat Garrity at Notre Dame, per BasketNews.
