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SUPERSONICS.COM: What was your reaction to being part of the Legends Tour?
Perkins: Well, my first reaction was I was overwhelmed because of the fact that they have so many ex-Sonics players that were honored and I was included. It is gratifying and it's also, like I said, an honor to be mentioned with some of the past legends from the '79 crew up to the time I was there and guys before me. It was fun playing for the Sonics and representing the community in a positive way. The recognition of the courts and refurbishing them is almost like a full circle for me because of the fact that's where everything started for me back in New York, where I played almost until dark - until you couldn't see the ball go through the hoop anymore. The playground was a safe haven for the start of my career and hopefully this court will be a positive thing for the community in White Center.

"The recognition of the courts and refurbishing them is almost like a full circle for me because of the fact that's where everything started for me back in New York." Lou Capozzola/Getty Images

What did you know about Seattle when you were traded to the Sonics by the Lakers?
I really didn't know Seattle that well at all, other than the fact that it rained a great deal. Just coming there for games played against Seattle, I always saw the downtown. Other than that, as I got there and got established and acclimated, it was a totally different city than I thought. It's a small city to me, but at the same time Seattle is a big city with suburbs and I enjoyed it a lot. I enjoyed my time there. It was probably the best city for me at that time in my career. Coming from L.A., a big city with lights and action and all that stuff, Seattle was on the calm. Probably, that's what I needed in my life at the time, so I was grateful that I got to know Seattle and the community as a Sonics player.

Was it difficult to join the Sonics midway through the season?
I think George Karl, who was the coach at the time, definitely made me feel part of the system real quick. There was no time for any introduction, it was pretty much get right on the court. At the time, I didn't think I would fit in only because they had a good team. Every time we played Seattle, it was always a challenge. I didn't know where I would fit with Michael Cage, Derrick McKey and some other players there. As I went on and got acclimated with the team, we made it work. I wanted to make it work because I didn't want to waste anybody's trade. I fit right in and before I knew it, I was on the team down the line, three, four years later.

What was the highlight of your time in Seattle?
It would pretty much have to be just my whole career there, because there's so many different things and times that were big. When I first got there, playing with Ricky Pierce, Eddie Johnson, Dana Barros, Shawn (Kemp), Detlef (Schrempf) and Derrick, the rest of the crew. After where we started from and going to the point where we found that we could be a pretty good team. Then losing against Denver, being number one and the eighth-place team beating us, I think that really compelled us and brought us close to get to the Finals and make sure that wouldn't happen again. I think the growth of the team and the camaraderie that we had for each other - because we definitely had personalities of sorts; when you can mesh all that together, that was a pretty good feeling because everybody was just playing basketball. In their own ways, putting it together made it even more worthwhile to play for each other. The years that I spent with the team and the guys throughout my career there probably was the highlight. The topping, of course, was going to the Finals with the team. That was good.

Do you think your interaction in the community, like serving as a DJ for KUBE, helped make you more memorable in Seattle?
I don't know if I've done as much as anybody else did. I'm sure there were a couple of other guys who did more to give back, but I implemented myself in the community by doing things that I guess other people probably did before. The KUBE thing really set it off a little different - there was a personality on the court and a personality off the court where kids and people can relate to me. Being a DJ, I love music and have a love for musicians. That was one of my other loves, to be a radio personality. The experience I had with KUBE, it propelled me into so many other things - getting entrenched in the community as far as representing some music, having some concerts up there and throwing some parties. I was just trying to keep busy other than staying in the rain, because it always rained up there so I always found myself inside. That's one of the reasons I did the things that I did is trying to stay busy with something that I enjoyed when we weren't playing basketball.

40TH ANNIVERSARY TEAM

Just one spot remains on the Sonics 40th Anniversary Team, a Wild Card position. Cast your vote now amongst five candidates from all eras of Sonics basketball, including Perkins.

How often do you get back to Seattle these days?
I get up there fairly decent. I'm always traveling, splitting my time between living in California, Dallas and New York. Seattle has probably suffered since I moved to California. It does suffer a little bit, but I do tend to get up there to see what's going on.

What all are you doing now?
I still do the music scene. I hold a couple of camps in the summertime for kids and worked a big man camp in Chapel Hill. I go back there and do stuff in the area for two, three weeks. During the summer and spring, I was traveling with the NBA for the Basketball Without Borders program. They have a program implemented with other countries and they go in there and hype awareness of HIV and also give clinics and instructional camps to their talent over there. Probably in the next five years or so, you'll see more players coming from those continents to the NBA. They go all over, just like they did in Europe. Now they're going to other countries to spread the game to some of the youngsters. There's very good talent over there. I do that and also work with the Indiana Pacers, do some broadcasting on the radio for them.