Former Celtics Champion Reveals the Main Reason Why Kevin Garnett Avoids Dinner with Ray Allen

Published 12/12/2020, 10:56 PM EST

The Netflix Documentary, The Playbook, dedicated one episode to coach Doc Rivers’ unscripted success with the 2008 Celtics. He made use of ‘Ubuntu’ to unite his men and made them believe the 17th franchise title belonged to them.

Coach Doc deserves credit to his name because he was pitted against an experienced Phil Jackson. However, it were the names like Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kendrick Perkins, and Rajon Rondo that made it possible. Their ‘big 3’ were so good that they consumed the duo of Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol in that season. But just after that, the team dynamics changed.

The bitterness between former Celtics players Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen

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As hard as it is to believe, but this feared duo soon hit rock bottom. Ray Allen, who won an NBA ring in his debut year with the Celtics, left the team without any notification. He joined the conference rivals Miami Heat (in 2012) to place his bets on LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade. Although it was a prolific move for him as he won another ring in 2013, it affected his kinship with KG.

In a recent interview, their former teammate Kendrick Perkins revealed how the chances of them making peace are thin.

He expressed, “it’s gonna have to be guys accidentally meeting up because trying to get guys to come to one place; trying to call KG to say, “Hey man, we’re going to dinner and oh yeah, Ray’s going to be there…” nah. It ain’t happening… I’ma have to set all the guys up, ‘Hey man. Look Ray. I’m going to Vegas. Come meet me out there…’ and I’ma have KG meet me out there too; I can’t just tell him. But doing it intentionally, I don’t see it happening.”

Why did KG take his departure personally?

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Both KG and Ray joined the Celtics in the same year. They had almost equal shooting prowess, but it was obvious that one had to step back for the greater benefit of the team.

It was KG who made the sacrifice and allowed Ray & Paul to carry the baton. So when Ray did not even bother to talk to his teammates before making the exit, that pinched Kevin.

A year later, both Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce left the team too. And the Boston Celtics, as the fans knew them, went back to sleep.

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Today, it is only men like KP who can get these two to talk and iron out their differences.

What are your favorite Kevin Garnett memories? Share with us in the comments.

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Written by:

Sourabh Singh is an NBA sports analyst for EssentiallySports, who has been working with the site since May 2020. Prior to this, he functioned as Managing Editor at WittyFeed, followed by a stint at Decathlon. The Sports Management graduate leads an active lifestyle, veering to the mountains for off-trail adventures.

Former Celtics Champion Reveals the Main Reason Why Kevin Garnett Avoids Dinner with Ray Allen

The bitterness between former Celtics players Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen

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Why did KG take his departure personally?