According to Kevin Garnett, he ended his feud with former teammate Ray Allen because of Kobe Bryant. He claimed that the NBA legend’s untimely and tragic death taught him that life is too short to be upset.
For those who don’t remember, Allen, KG, and Paul Pierce were colleagues on the Boston Celtics when they shared the 2008 NBA championship.
But in 2012, Ray decided to join the Miami Heat, splitting up their Big 3. This greatly infuriated KG, who felt a certain way about the 10-time All-Star choose their conference opponent over Paul and him.
Garnett said to Kevin Hart on his “Cold as Balls” show this week, “What made the Ray situation so prolific with us is because the structure we built in Boston, the three of us built that.” “So if it was one team we had an issue with, it was Miami.”
“I wasn’t considering things like Ray’s better business decision or his opportunity to win another ring—I wasn’t going to take that on! I was only thinking about myself.
However, Kobe’s death on January 26, 2020, completely altered Garnett’s perspective. As a result, the two friends who had become rivals were able to get along amicably at the NBA’s 75th anniversary celebration and even hugged each other during KG’s jersey retirement ceremony in 2022.
The hooper added, “Kob’s passing and the fact that we are all growing older helped me understand that life is not given to none of us.”
Naturally, Allen—who went on to win a second championship with MIA—always maintained that he had no grudges towards Garnett and that he loved the five years he spent with the Celtics.
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