Ray Allen. AFP/GETTY IMAGES FILE PHOTO
Almost five years since Ray Allen left the Boston Celtics to join the Miami Heat, there’s still no love lost between him and his former comrades.
Nearing the 10th anniversary of its NBA championship, the 2008 Celtics squad is gearing up for a reunion party to commemorate its glory. However, the team did not even bother to invite its former sharpshooter.
“I asked a couple of the guys. I got a no, a no head shake,” the team’s former point guard, Rajon Rondo, told Undefeated when asked why Allen was excluded.
The feisty floor general, who now plays for the Chicago Bulls, also revealed that there are still hard feelings related to Allen’s departure prior to the 2012-2013 season.
Instead of signing with the team, the 10-time All-Star opted to join then LeBron James-led Miami Heat, who was considered Boston’s biggest rival at the time.
“I don’t know a good analogy to put this in. It just wasn’t the greatest separation,” Rondo explained further to Bleacher Report.
“It wasn’t the greatest thing that could’ve happened to us as a team, a bond. We were at war with those guys [Miami]. To go with the enemy, that’s unheard of in sports. Well, it’s not so unheard of. It’s damn near common now,” the 31-year-old spitfire guard added.
He even questioned Allen’s loyalty and allegiance to the team.
“Who were you for? You didn’t bleed green. People think we had a messed-up relationship. It’s not the greatest. But it’s not just me,” he said.
Allen, Rondo and future Hall of Famers Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett were responsible for the greatest season turn-around in NBA history. The team went 66–16 in the regular season, capped off by the Larry O’ Brien trophy. Previously, the team won only 24 games.
Meanwhile, Allen, who still holds the league’s all-time record in three pointers made, has remained estranged from Rondo, Pierce and Garnett since his departure.
Both Allen and Garnett have since retired, while Pierce also revealed that this season with the Los Angeles Clippers will be his last. Khristian Ibarrola /ra