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Ray Allen may have spent only two years in a Miami Heat uniform, but the Hall of Famer is nonetheless a made man in South Beach. After all, he played a key role in helping the club reach two NBA Finals, one of which resulted in a championship.
However, his free-agent move to Miami in 2012 wasn’t an all-out win. By leaving the Celtics, with whom he won a title four years earlier, he made enemies out of the Boston core of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo.
Although Allen and Pierce seemingly quelled whatever beef existed between them at some point before the 2021 Hall of Fame induction ceremony, the Big Ticket looks to be holding on to his big grudge.
During the halftime break of the All-Star Game on Sunday, the 75 greatest hoopers in league history were presented; a group that included Allen, Garnett and Pierce. And the reception KG gave to Allen after he was announced to the crowd — or vice versa, depending on who you ask — has the hoops world buzzing.
Fans React to Awkward Allen/KG Encounter
Whether Allen was approaching KG for a fist bump, only to get big-timed, or bypassing his former Celtics teammate to greet LeBron James, Garnett’s reaction to the situation may have set a new standard in pettiness. And fans are eating it up.
“KG despising Ray Allen is so completely pointless but it is absolutely hilarious,” wrote SB Nation’s Brady Klopfer.
“You gotta give it to KG for consistency…” opined a fan. “It’s been damn near 10 years+ and he’s still not f*****g with Ray Allen. That’s a real grudge… no media shit.”
“Out of all the players in the 75, those 3 had to be together while specifically Ray Allen was getting called,” wrote another commenter. “The irony and pettiness is real.”
“So glad Ray Allen didn’t speak to Kevin Garnett & Paul Pierce. They’ve been telling everyone that they don’t have anything to say to him then looked shocked when he didn’t speak,” commented a third fan. “They thought they were gonna embarrass him if he spoke. Jokes on them.”
“KG and Paul Pierce are still tight over Ray Allen going to Miami. That’s crazy,” added a fourth tweeter.
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Garnett on His Issue With Allen
As recently as 2020, when he addressed the Allen situation with the Boston Globe, Garnett made it clear that he continues to take issue with the sharpshooter’s departure from Beantown, which occurred just one month after James and the Heat defeated the Celtics in Game 7 of the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals.
“I’ve been very vocal on my distaste for what Ray did, that was real for everybody that was involved,” Garnett said. “That’s real life. We was in a real beef with Miami at the time and very similar to if someone was to go from the Lakers to the Celtics, and vice versa. No one will speak on the underlyings of it, but that was a real thing. Miami and Boston. That was a real thing.
“Ray made a decision; I wouldn’t expect Ray to be at anything of mine. And vice versa. If I see him, I’ll speak. I’ll say hello to his family like always. He knows that decision altered and made us all feel different.”
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