The Boston Celtics were one of the most crowded lineups in the league in the late 2000s.
Some would argue that they – not LeBron James – started the “Superteam” trend with Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo.
Their battles with the Big 3 in the Miami Heat were some of the most memorable in recent Eastern Conference – and the NBA – history, developing a heated rivalry that continues to this day.
That’s why some Celtics fans and players had a hard time forgiving Allen for moving from Boston to Miami, and that includes Pierce himself.
This became apparent again when a fan urged The Truth to get the band together to root for the Celtics during Game 7, and Pierce responded that he didn’t know which team Allen would be rooting for.
Paul Pierce still hasn’t forgiven Ray Allen for leaving the Celtics to join the Heat 🤣😭 pic.twitter.com/U47Ax5j5ck
– ClutchPoints (ClutchPointsApp) May 29, 2023
There has been a lot of hesitation about this.
Allen wasn’t invited to a team reunion, and they’ve taken several shots at each other over the years, though Garnett recently stated that they buried the hatchet.
Allen has helped both teams win NBA championships, and he’s stated time and time again that he wants to come back to Boston, but the front office didn’t want him bad enough to make a respectable offer to keep him in town.
The Celtics have reached back-to-back NBA Finals and were the last team to win a ring in franchise history, so some fans may have already forgiven Allen for this alleged betrayal.
Hopefully Pierce will say the same thing someday somewhere down the line.
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