Kendrick Perkins talks about KG's intensity: "He is the definition of locked in"

Throughout the long and rich history of the NBA, players with varying levels of intensity and desire for victory have passed through. From those who treated their career as just a job, often showing up without much hunger, to those whose intensity exceeded normal limits. One of the latter is the legendary power forward Kevin Garnett .

Known not only as one of the greatest trash-talkers, KG built his basketball skills on immense energy and emotion, which was almost "contagious." This was something his former teammate, retired-center-turned-analyst Kendrick Perkins , also experienced, explaining what The Big Ticket brought to his team.

“Man, when I tell you KG taught me so much on how to lock in; he's the definition of that term locked in. It's like an on-and-off switch,” Big Perk explained in his recent appearance on The Mark Jackson Podcast .

The Big Ticket brought a different mentality to the locker room

Garnett decided to seek his fortune in Boston when he moved before the 2007-08 season due to strained relations with the front office of his former team, the Minnesota Timberwolves. Big Perk was already a member of the team, but the arrival of the league MVP was the refreshment that Celtics fans had been waiting for, both on and off the court. The results quickly followed as C’s won the Larry O'Brien trophy that very season, ending a 22-year drought. The retired center explained how KG's behavior behind the scenes spread onto the rest of the team and ultimately had a positive impact on everyone.

“KG, when you got to the arena, it was certain things that you already knew… Our locker room was quiet as hell I mean, you could hear a mouse fart,” his Celtics teammate continued. “I mean, we couldn't even play our headphones on high volume. If he heard it coming through your headphones, it was a problem.”

KG is still intense up to this day

While some of his methods might seem hardcore, Kevin made a living out of them. In his 22-year career, there's no award KG didn't win, and that likely wouldn't have happened without the intensity he played with until his last game.

Now, as a podcast host and analyst, he channels all that passion for basketball to fans who might not have seen him behind the scenes. Perkins notes that his former teammate is exactly as he appears on various social media channels, unfiltered and intense, whether he's "just" commenting on the latest happenings in the Association.

“He's not putting on a costume; that's him all day every day, even when you pull up to his crib, that's him all day every day,” the retired champion concluded.

Related: “Who knows, man?” - Kevin Garnett when asked in 2002 if he would be a Timberwolf for life