Kendrick Perkins has spent a deal of time spewing our hot takes since he officially announced his retirement back in April. The former Oklahoma City Thunder center has also taken some trips down memory lane. Although, Perkins has focused a bit more on the team he broke in the NBA with, the Boston Celtics, than his time in Oklahoma City.

Perkins, of course, joined the Thunder in the 2010-2011 season when he and Nate Robinson were traded by Boston for Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic. Perkins then played 273 games for Oklahoma City until he was shipped out in the middle of the 2014-15 season.

In a recent interview on FS1’s “Fair Game” with Kristine Leahy, Perkins talked about when he first joined the Thunder. Although there were some who still missed Green, the big man found a way to fit in.

I actually gelled with those guys pretty quickly because they had this winning mentality. They were so young but it was just like, you could tell they had a passion for winning. And they looked up to me. So I instantly took a leadership role.

But when Perkins looks back on the group he shared the floor with — which included Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Serge Ibaka — he felt the team was close, but there was something missing.

We came together but it was still, like, it was a family, but it wasn’t all the way in. Guys were still trying to find themselves. At the end of the day, they were still trying to decide if it was Russ’ team or KD’s team. So it was basically, when we got to the finals, it was “My turn. Your turn. My turn. Your turn.” And then you have James who was the Sixth Man of the Year coming in off the bench and the ball might not swing his way.

The Thunder were still experiencing identity problems when they reached the 2012 NBA Finals, Perkins first full season in Oklahoma City, which is why the big man feels that run was special. In the end, he chalks the loss up to Miami having more experience.