After watching LeBron James & Co. serving nostalgia in style in Europe, we wonder what happened to those other championship rosters that created history. But we’re not the only ones thinking about that. Kendrick Perkins openly admitted to feeling a wave of jealousy while watching the close-knit bond of the 2016 title team. Not because his two stints in Cleveland were unfortunately outside the championship campaign. He’s having a bad case of FOMO because he’s missing his own championship squad.

While co-hosts Richard Jefferson and Channing Frye were enjoying the Scottish Highlands, Perk couldn’t hold back his awe for the historic significance of the squad’s bond: “It just goes to show you how close the group is, right? Because after you win a championship…”

“You’re bonded forever,” guest host Danny Green then said as he completed the sentence. Allie Clifton also noted that the squad’s bond isn’t just limited to rare conversations: “The thing I think too with this group is we’ve heard for years about the text chain. The text chain that has been and continues. It’s not just basketball. It’s life.

Hearing about the group’s legendary text chain then prompted Perkins to issue a hilarious, direct ultimatum to his fellow ’08 teammates: “Damn it, I’m making calls now,” Perkins declared. “I’m about to call KG a–, Paul a–, Rondo a–, Eddie House—like, we got to go somewhere.”

We don’t know what the communication lines between Perkins, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo, and Eddie House is but this isn’t out of nowhere. Perkins very perfectly illustrates the kind of bond that forms through a championship season.

“You know how hard it is to win a damn championship? You know how much you got to be around guys throughout the course of a 82-game season? You’re around those guys and those individuals more than you’re around your own damn family,” he noted. “You know how many times you then bump heads with those guys? Y’all then got into arguments. Y’all done loved on one another. Y’all then came on the bus and not talked to one another. Y’all then wanted to trade one another. Like, all that s— happens throughout the course of that journey, and then when you reach the mountaintop—especially the fashion that they did it in—that right there is a beautiful thing to see.”

The ’08 Celtics and the ’16 Cavs have those in common for sure. But not all was perfect. And while Cleveland still loves its champions, Perk has personally experienced that Boston is an unforgiving fanbase.

Kendrick Perkins’ 2008 Celtics aren’t the same as LeBron James’ Cavaliers

Perkins’ firsthand look at the closeness of the 2016 Cavaliers is far from hearsay. The absolute proof of the team’s ongoing bond was reflected right inside the Road Trippin’ studio, as regular show hosts Richard Jefferson and Channing Frye were both completely missing from the episode. They were not even joining in from Scotland, where the two retired forwards are with LeBron James, JR Smith, Kevin Love, and Tristan Thompson. RJ even confirmed to fans that Iman Shumpert and Matthew Dellavedova will join them later in the trip.

While the core roster enjoyed wine tastings and luxury watch shopping in London and golf outings in the Scottish Highlands, Perkins was praising their brotherhood back home. It begs the question if we’d really see the ’08 champs enjoy. 

Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce’s friendship from school to NBA and in retirement remains strong, but that Celtics roster didn’t stay the same after the title. Ray Allen’s infamous 2012 exit to join LeBron James and the Miami Heat fractured that squad. KG, Pierce, Rondo, and the city of Boston harbored resentment for years. Allen and his former teammates, as well as Boston, eventually reconciled by the time Garnett’s jersey was retired in 2022.

The same can’t be said for Perk and Boston. While he didn’t leave the team on bad terms, his career as an ESPN analyst strained his relationship with the organization. Most notably, Perkins’ comments on Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum estranged him from the current team. When the Celtics won the 2024 championship, the first since 2008, the former champs were invited to the parade except Perk.

Regardless of how the team feels about him now, Perk still has a close friendship with KG, Pierce, Rondo, and Doc Rivers too. He claims they have a group chat as well. After watching the Cavs reunion, that chat probably lit up with plans if the ’08 squad caught the hint.