When Ray Allen left the Boston Celtics as a free agent after the 2009-10 NBA Season and signed with then conference rival Miami Heat, it created some bad blood between himself and Kevin Garnett that ended up lasting 11 years. When Allen returned to Boston as a member of the Miami Heat and tried to greet his former teammates before their game, Garnett was very hostile toward him.
After the Celtics denied LeBron James a trip to the NBA Finals in back to back years (2008 and 2009), he left his hometown Cleveland for Miami where he teamed up with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. The Heat went on to win back to back titles in 2012 and 2013, one clinched by Ray Allen’s iconic shot. The Celtics haven’t been to the NBA Finals since 2010 where they lost to the Lakers back to back after winning in 2008.
Paul Pierce revealed in subsequent interviews KG viewed Allen’s decision to not just leave without talking to them about it but signing with the conference rival built to beat Boston as a betrayal. Pierce had no beef with Allen both then or since. He’s stayed friends with him all this time while also being friends with KG as well. When NBC Sports Boston did a documentary on the Celtics’ 2008 championship for the 10th anniversary, both Allen and KG declined to do interviews. KG refused to participate if Allen would be there while Allen was unable to participate due to a scheduling conflict at the time.
Fast forward to the NBA 75 All Star Weekend.
Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen–all since inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame–were all named to the 75th Anniversary team. The morning of the All Star game, the members of the 75th anniversary team in attendance had a meet and greet breakfast. At some point during that time, Boston’s Second Big Three took the above picture together. Cameras caught a tense moment during the All Star game’s ceremony in which Allen walked past Garnett to greet LeBron James. Garnett looked like he was trying to suppress his anger why Pierce, who was standing next time him looked like he was hoping things would not suddenly get physical.
…Then the second picture surfaced the next day. To that point, the fallout beween KG and Allen was the second most imfamous after the Shaq and Kobe feud. It was also the longest. Shaq and Kobe did eventually reconcile after Shaq retired. Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash in January 2020. After Kobe died, Shaq said he was glad they were able to patch things up years before.
That brings us to yesterday.
The moment Celtics fans had been waiting 11 years for had finally happened: During his jersey retirement ceremony, Garnett called Allen to the floor where the two embraced, Pierce joining them a few moments later. The Big Three that brough Boston its 17th banner was back together.
Everyone knows about Kobe’s imfamous feud with Shaq and how nasty things got between them before they reconciled after their mothers got involved. Kobe’s sudden death reminded everyone tomorrow is not promised. KG and Allen both knew their fans in Boston didn’t like the fact they were on bad terms for so long either. Their moment in Boston was more for Celtics fans than anything else.
Garnett did give some insight into how his mind works both during his playing days and in the years since at the ceremony: Once he’s locked in, he doesn’t think about anything else. He’s since been doing a lot of tame and control that side of him. Both of his daughters, one of which was born the year the Celtics won the 2008 Championship were present and helped him raise his number into the rafters.
Allen stuck around after the ceremony ended to speak to NBC Sports Boston anchor and former teammate Brian Scalabrine. He spoke of how relieved and happy he was to know the bad blood between him and KG is behind them. Given KG said Allen’s number should be retired next, you can be sure the band will get back together when that happens.
The only members of the 2008 Championship team who were not present were Rajon Rondo, who currently plays for the Cleveland Caveliers and Doc Rivers, who is Head Coach of the Philadelphia 76ers. Both did send a prerecorded message for the ceremony though.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the other reconciliation involving the Celtics that needs to happen.
When the Celtics traded Isaiah Thomas to Cleveland for Kyrie Irving–we all know how that ended–he took it as a betrayal and took it very personally. More so given his sister died during the Celtics’ playoff run a few months earlier. Although he has since reconciled with Danny Ainge, he hasn’t been the same since. IT4 has also trouble staying in the NBA after his time with the Celtics despite becoming a 3-time all star during his time in Boston.
Although both sides want IT4 to return to Boston, the problem is the Celtics are too stacked in regards to Guards right now but it’s essentially wait and see for next year. That’s why he’s playing with the Charlotte Hornets (on a limited-time contract) right now with fellow former Celtics teammates Terry Rozier and Gordon Hayward.
The fallout of IT4’s departure went beyond just him. After it happened, several All Star-level NBA players stated they would never play for Danny Ainge because of what happened to him. It’s worth noting before the trade went down, the Celtics would have had a new Big Three in IT4, Al Hordford and the just signed Gordon Hayward. There was already bittersweet news around Paul Pierce retiring as well.
Before the ink on the Hayward signing was allowed to dry, news of the trade involving IT4 and Kyrie Irving broke. Irving wanted out to Cleveland and the Cavs found a willing trade partner in Boston. The Celtics received Irving in exchange for not just IT4 but Ante Zizic, Jae Crowder (now with the Phoenix Suns) and two draft picks.
The trade ultimately ended up not working out for both teams. Irving left Boston for Brooklyn two seasons later while IT4 has struggled to stay in the NBA through no fault of his own. It’s more than fair to say Irving’s aloof and eccentric personalities didn’t serve him well in Boston. Fortunately by the time he left for Brooklyn, the Celtics had Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown who were both ready to take the reins. We’ll have to wait a while longer to see what the future holds for IT4. Hopefully a return to Boston is in his future.
Two months after announcing his retirement, The GOAT will return for a 23rd NFL Season and he will return as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Tom Brady broke the news himself via Twitter Sunday afternoon, saying in part he “still has some things to prove”.
His decision to unretire also means the Bucs have a bit more time to look for his replacement. The good news for the Bucs is now their path to a Super Bowl return is all but assured but everyone else in the NFC who was breathing a sigh of relief when Brady announced his retirement two months ago now has to worry about him for at least one more season.
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