After the Boston Celtics won the NBA championship in 2008, made it back to the Finals in 2010, and came so close to beating the Miami Heat in the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals, it seemed like they were on the verge of winning another title. But then, in the summer of 2012, Ray Allen shocked Boston fans by turning down a two-year deal with the Celtics and joining the team that had just beaten them, the Heat.
This move led to a major fallout between him and his former Boston teammates, especially Kevin Garnett, who couldn't understand why Sugar Ray had left them stranded. While KG and the Celtics fanbase held onto that bitterness for years, Allen eventually let it go, saying " life was too short" to keep holding grudges.
No animosity for Celtics teammates
During the 2007-08 season, the 10-time All-Star averaged 17.4 points per game. Then, when the Celtics made it back to the Finals in 2010, he averaged 16.3 points per game, proving how vital his shooting was in helping KG and Paul Pierce carry the scoring load. So, when Allen left the Celtics to join the Heat in 2012, it was clear that he thought he had a better shot at another title with D-Wade and LeBron James than with Garnett and Pierce.
Consequently, that decision created a lot of bad blood between Ray and the Celtics marquee players and the fans. Things got so heated that the 6'5" shooting guard received death threats from the franchise fans nearly a decade after making that infamous decision.
"You're talking about nine years now, and I've gotten so much hate, death threats, vitriol from Boston fans," Allen said in 2020. "As far as me being there, I think that is a subject that is really undecided yet."
While it would be understandable for a player to hold animosity in his heart after receiving such vile treatment, that wasn't Ray's style. The two-time NBA Champion shared on The DA Show that he didn't want to hold onto any ill feelings as life was " too short " to let them take any space in his mind.
"I don't worry about it, " Allen said. "I've got to the point; life is too short. You have to chalk it up in the life-is-too-short category. Life is good. The people who are in my life, they mean so much to me, and that's all that matters."
KG let go of his beef with Allen
Interestingly, it wasn't just Ray who let go of the hard feelings; even The Big Ticket, after seeing the tragic passing of Kobe Bryant and being reminded of how unpredictable life can be, decided it was time to drop the grudges against his former teammate with whom he had shared so many great memories.
In the end, the Celtics' Big 3 of Garnett, Pierce, and Allen reconciled. They embraced one another during the 2004 MVP's jersey retirement at the TD Garden and again during the NBA 75th Anniversary Team celebration. Fortunately for all NBA fans, they all realized how it was time to embrace their accomplishments rather than dwelling on the "what ifs" of the past.
Related: "I think people forget that Ray Allen was more than just a shooter" - Steve Smith on why Ray Allen deserves more praise as a complete player
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