Some 12 years ago today, Boston Celtics legend Paul Pierce was front and center in that infamous wheelchair incident in Game 1 of the 2008 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers. Recently, former C's teammate Kendrick Perkins went on ESPN's “The Jump” with Rachel Nichols and narrated his side of the story.

According to Perkins, he even faked an injury himself to be able to see what was really going on with Pierce in the locker room at that time:

“Rachel, listen. Paul is from Inglewood, California,” Perkins said. “All guys from Inglewood you never know what's going on through their minds. We were so worried. I kinda faked the injury to go back there and check on Paul, and he was okay. So when I went back to the bench everybody was like, ‘Is Paul good?' I'm like, ‘Yeah!' Then he come running from outside the locker room like Rocky and he went off. But you never know with Paul. He probably did that on purpose. I'm glad he did do it because, I'll tell you what, it won us that ballgame.”

I guess that now makes two Boston players faking an injury during that game. Previously, Pierce himself already admitted that the real reason he faked the injury was that he needed to go to the bathroom, and Kendrick Perkins' narrative here is consistent with his former teammate's side of the tale.

Now the fact that Pierce had to use a wheelchair is simply overkill — something that Perkins is in agreement with:

“You know Paul gotta overreact on everything,” he added. “You know that's how he is. He gotta overreact.”

For what it's worth, Boston did win that game of the series (Game 1), and went on to defeat the Lakers to lift their first title in over two decades.