Sam Perkins

Samuel "Sam" Perkins (born June 14, 1961) is an American retired professional basketball player. He won a gold medal with the US national team at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

Known by the nicknames "Sleepy Sam" and "Big Smooth", he attended Samuel J. Tilden High School, Shaker High School and the University of North Carolina, where he was a teammate of future Hall of Famers James Worthy and Michael Jordan. A member of the 1982 NCAA Tournament championship winning Tar Heel squad, he was selected with the fourth pick of the 1984 NBA draft by the Dallas Mavericks and played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1984 to 2001.

In 2008, Perkins was named vice president of player relations for the Indiana Pacers, for whom he played from 1999–2001.

In September 2008, Perkins was inducted into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame along with NBA stars Kenny Anderson and Rod Strickland, coach Pete Gillen and pioneers Lou Bender and Eddie Younger.

Career highlights