Sam Perkins Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
Sam Perkins

Perkins in 2016

Personal information

Born

June 14, 1961 (age 63)
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.

High school

Samuel J. Tilden
(Brooklyn, New York)
Shaker
(Latham, New York)

Listed height

6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)

Listed weight

235 lb (107 kg)

Career information

College

North Carolina (1980–1984)

NBA Draft

1984 / Round: 1 / Pick: 4th overall

Selected by the Dallas Mavericks

Pro career

1984–2001

Career history

1984–1990

1990–1993

1993–1998

1999–2001

Career highlights and awards

NBA All-Rookie First Team (1985)
NCAA champion (1982)
2× Consensus first-team All-American (1983, 1984)
Consensus second-team All-American (1982)
3× First-team All-ACC (1982–1984)
ACC tournament MVP (1981)
ACC Rookie of the Year (1981)
No. 41 honored by North Carolina Tar Heels
USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year (1984)
First-team Parade All-American (1980)
McDonald's All-American (1980)

Career NBA statistics

Points

15,324 (11.9 ppg)

Rebounds

7,666 (6.0 rpg)

Blocks

933 (0.7 bpg)

Medals

Men's basketball

Representing United States
Olympic Games
Gold	1984 Los Angeles	Team competition
Pan American Games
Gold	1983 Caracas	Team competition
FIBA U19 World Championship
Gold	1979 Salvador	Team competition

Samuel Bruce Perkins (born June 14, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player and executive. Perkins was a three-time college All-American, was a member of the 1982 national champion North Carolina Tar Heels, and won a gold medal with the 1984 United States men's Olympic basketball team. Perkins played professionally in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 17 seasons.

Early life
College career
Professional career
Post-retirement activities
Personal life
NBA career statistics
- Regular season
- Playoffs
See also

Early life

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Perkins attended Samuel J. Tilden High School. He later attended and graduated from Shaker High School in Latham, New York. He was named large-school player of the year (high school) by the New York State Sportswriters Association in 1980 and was also named to the 35 Greatest Boys McDonald's All Americans team.

College career

Perkins attended college at the University of North Carolina and played basketball for the North Carolina Tar Heels from 1980 to 1984. He was named ACC Rookie of the Year in 1981 and starred alongside future NBA Hall of Famers James Worthy and Michael Jordan on the Tar Heels' 1982 NCAA championship team. A three-time All-American, Perkins was the 1984 USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year. Perkins finished his collegiate basketball career as the Tar Heels' all-time leader in rebounds and blocked shots and as the second-highest scorer in team history. He graduated from UNC in 1984. Perkins was a co-captain of the gold medal-winning 1984 United States men's Olympic basketball team. He was named first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference three times in his Tar Heel career.

Professional career

Chosen by the Dallas Mavericks as the fourth overall pick in the 1984 NBA draft, Perkins went on to play as a power forward and center in the NBA from 1984 to 2001. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 1985. Perkins played for the Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers, Seattle SuperSonics, and Indiana Pacers. He scored a career-high 45 points on April 12, 1990. Perkins tied an NBA record on January 15, 1997, by making eight three-pointers without a miss. He appeared in three NBA Finals: The 1991 NBA Finals (with the Lakers), the 1996 NBA Finals (with the SuperSonics), and the 2000 NBA Finals (with the Pacers). In game one of the 1991 NBA Finals, Perkins made a game-winning three-point shot to defeat the Chicago Bulls. He was known by the nicknames "Sleepy Sam", "Big Smooth", and "The Big Easy".

Post-retirement activities

In 2002, Perkins was named to the ACC 50th Anniversary men's basketball team as one of the fifty greatest players in Atlantic Coast Conference history.

In 2008, Perkins was named vice president of player relations for the Indiana Pacers. That September, he was inducted into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame. Perkins held his position with the Pacers until 2010.

In 2011, Perkins traveled to South Sudan as a SportsUnited Sports Envoy for the U.S. Department of State. In this capacity, he worked with Dikembe Mutombo to lead a series of basketball clinics and team-building exercises with 50 youth and 36 coaches. This helped contribute to the State Department's mission to remove barriers and create a world in which individuals with disabilities enjoy dignity and full inclusion in society.

Perkins was named to the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018.

Perkins at his camp in 2019

Perkins runs a summer camp for Chapel Hill, North Carolina youth that focuses on developing the basic skills of basketball.

Personal life

Perkins was raised a Jehovah's Witness. During his professional career, he stood away from his line of teammates for the national anthem due to his faith.

NBA career statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1984–85	Dallas	82	42	28.3	.471	.250	.820	7.4	1.6	.8	.8	11.0
1985–86	Dallas	80	79	32.8	.503	.333	.814	8.6	1.9	.9	1.2	15.4
1986–87	Dallas	80	80	33.6	.482	.352	.828	7.7	1.8	1.4	1.0	14.8
1987–88	Dallas	75	75	33.3	.450	.167	.822	8.0	1.6	1.0	.7	14.2
1988–89	Dallas	78	77	36.7	.464	.184	.833	8.8	1.6	1.0	1.2	15.0
1989–90	Dallas	76	70	35.1	.493	.214	.778	7.5	2.3	1.2	.8	15.9
1990–91	L.A. Lakers	76	66	34.3	.495	.281	.821	7.4	1.5	.9	1.1	13.5
1991–92	L.A. Lakers	63	63	37.0	.450	.217	.817	8.8	2.2	1.0	1.0	16.5
1992–93	L.A. Lakers	49	49	32.4	.459	.172	.829	7.7	2.6	.8	1.0	13.7
1992–93	Seattle	30	13	25.4	.511	.452	.795	4.8	.9	.7	1.0	12.1
1993–94	Seattle	81	41	26.8	.438	.367	.801	4.5	1.4	.8	4	12.3
1994–95	Seattle	82*	37	28.7	.466	.397	.799	4.9	1.6	.9	.5	12.7
1995–96	Seattle	82	20	26.5	.408	.355	.793	4.5	1.5	1.0	.6	11.8
1996–97	Seattle	81	4	24.4	.439	.395	.817	3.7	1.3	.9	.6	11.0
1997–98	Seattle	81	0	20.7	.416	.392	.789	3.1	1.4	.8	.4	7.2
1998–99	Indiana	48	0	16.4	.400	.389	.717	2.9	.5	.3	.3	5.0
1999–00	Indiana	81	0	20.0	.417	.408	.825	3.6	.8	.4	.4	6.6
2000–01	Indiana	64	41	15.6	.381	.345	.842	2.6	.6	.5	.3	3.8
Career		1,286	757	28.5	.459	.362	.811	6.0	1.5	.9	.7	11.9

Playoffs

Perkins has the distinction of having the third-most playoff games appeared in without having been on a team that won the NBA Championship. The only players with more playoff appearances and zero rings, as of the 2020 season, are Hall of Famers and longtime Utah Jazz players Karl Malone and John Stockton.

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1985	Dallas	4	4	42.3	.490	.250	.765	12.8	2.8	.5	.3	18.8
1986	Dallas	10	10	34.7	.429	.250	.767	8.3	2.4	.9	1.4	14.9
1987	Dallas	4	4	17.0	.500	.000	.696	8.5	1.3	1.0	.3	17.0
1988	Dallas	17	17	33.6	.451	.143	.803	6.6	1.8	1.5	1.0	13.5
1990	Dallas	3	3	39.3	.444	.000	.765	7.3	2.7	1.0	.7	15.0
1991	L.A. Lakers	19	19	39.6	.548	.367	.761	8.3	1.7	.8	1.4	17.7
1993	Seattle	19	17	32.9	.436	.380	.873	7.0	1.9	1.0	1.3	14.4
1994	Seattle	5	0	28.2	.333	.429	.882	7.2	.8	.8	.4	9.8
1995	Seattle	4	1	35.3	.438	.455	1.000	7.8	3.3	.8	1.3	13.5
1996	Seattle	21	1	31.1	.459	.368	.754	4.3	1.7	.7	.3	12.3
1997	Seattle	12	6	28.3	.337	.311	.862	4.4	1.3	1.0	1.0	8.4
1998	Seattle	10	1	21.0	.381	.417	.600	3.2	1.4	.3	.5	5.4
1999	Indiana	13	0	11.2	.514	.458	.667	1.9	.5	.0	.2	4.1
2000	Indiana	23	0	18.1	.324	.348	.905	3.2	.4	.2	.3	4.8
2001	Indiana	3	0	6.3	.250	.250	–	1.3	.0	.0	.0	1.7
Career		167	83	28.7	.444	.363	.785	5.6	1.5	.7	.8	11.1

Sam Perkins facts for kids

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