Kevin Garnett is clearly still not over how things ended with Ray Allen in Boston. The latest reminder came during halftime of Sunday night's NBA All-Star Game, when the two former Celtics were both part of the league's ceremony to honor the 75 greatest players in NBA history.
Garnett and Paul Pierce stood side-by-side after being introduced and could be seen laughing and joking around. Somewhat awkwardly, LeBron James -- their biggest Eastern Conference rival during their time together -- wound up right next to them.
Then things got much more awkward when Allen got introduced. Allen and James exchanged an enthusiastic fist bump, and Pierce politely clapped along. But Garnett was not having any of it. Just look at this reaction:
Allen, of course, left Garnett, Pierce and the Celtics to sign with the Heat and team up with James back in 2012. The move closed the book on the "Big Three" era in Boston, with the team taking a big step back that season and then trading both Pierce and Garnett the following offseason. Allen, James and the Heat, meanwhile, went on to win the NBA title in 2013.
Garnett has been open about the fact that he has still not forgiven Allen for bolting to the Celtics' biggest rival, although he did publicly congratulate Allen on making the top 75 team last year.
“I’ve been very vocal on my distaste for what Ray did, that was real for everybody that was involved,” Garnett told the Boston Globe in 2020. “That’s real life. We was in a real beef with Miami at the time and very similar to if someone was to go from the Lakers to the Celtics, and vice versa. No one will speak on the underlyings of it, but that was a real thing. Miami and Boston. That was a real thing.
“Ray made a decision; I wouldn’t expect Ray to be at anything of mine. And vice versa. If I see him, I’ll speak. I’ll say hello to his family like always. He knows that decision altered and made us all feel different.”
Garnett's No. 5 will be retired by the Celtics on March 13, and it doesn't seem particularly likely that Allen will be part of the festivities.
Pierce, meanwhile, has said that he and Allen have buried the hatchet in recent years. During Pierce's induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame in September, he posted a video of him and Allen and said, "We always gonna be brothers."