The beef in Boston appears to have officially been quashed.
Celtics great Kevin Garnett saw his jersey retired at TD Garden on Sunday. During the ceremony, he called out former teammate Ray Allen, who was sitting in the stands.
“It’s good to see Ray Allen here, real s***,” Garnett said.
Allen then got up from his seat to share a hug with Garnett at midcourt. Fellow former teammate Paul Pierce made it group hug to a standing ovation from Celtics fans.
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Allen, Garnett and Pierce played five seasons together in Boston as the core of the team that won the franchise’s first and only NBA championship in 2008 since the Larry Bird era. Allen left the team in 2012 to join LeBron James and the rival Miami Heat, igniting a years-long grudge with his former teammates.
Garnett said after Allen’s move that he lost Allen’s phone number. He had no interest in greeting Allen during the first Heat-Celtics game after Allen’s move in 2012.
The tension lingered for years, and Allen missed Pierce’s 2018 jersey retirement amid the ongoing angst. Pierce said in 2017 that he was more upset Allen didn’t give his Celtics teammates a heads-up than the fact that he left. He said he hadn’t talked with Allen in years.
The tension appeared to thaw over All-Star weekend in Cleveland when all three were honored as members of the NBA’s 75th anniversary team. The three were seen smiling together in a photo from the celebration in a reunion that appears to have precluded Sunday’s public showing in Boston.
Missing from Sunday’s festivities was Rajon Rondo. He can surely be forgiven as he’s slated to play on Monday as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
