Celtics legends Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett had some memorable playoff runs during their 5 seasons together at Boston.
Advertisement
Few single-championship teams have received the amount of fanfare that the 2008 Celtics did. It was the culmination of a lifetime of playoff disappointment for 3 first-ballot Hall of Fame players. They’d finally received a lucky break after over a decade of bad luck in the NBA.
Allen set the record for 3-pointers made in a Finals series in 2008. He added to that feat with 7 3-pointers in one half of a Finals game in 2010, once again against the Lakers.
Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett are among the most underrated Big Threes in basketball history. If only they had joined forces before all of them hit their 30s, they could have had a lot more success together.
Ray Allen recalls an instance of Kevin Garnett trash talking Joakim Noah
Allen released a tell-all book, ‘From the Outside: My Journey Through Life and the Game I Love’ in the year 2008. The incident he relates here is something he’s mentioned in his book as well.
When Joakim Noah once congratulated Garnett on a step-back jumper and asked if he could teach him the shot — an exchange Allen said was common between players in the NBA — Garnett responded, “Get off my dick.”
“If you’re on his team, he will die for you,” Allen wrote. “If you’re not, he won’t give you the time of day.”
According to Ray Allen on “The Posecast,” Kevin Garnett and Joakim Noah had this exchange after KG scored on him:
Noah: “Big fella, that was a great move. I need you to teach me that.”
KG: “Man, get off my di*k.” 😂
FULL EPISODE: https://t.co/CwIu9JcxN5pic.twitter.com/qXu1LJksCP
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) December 17, 2020
Allen also appreciated Garnett’s everlasting tenacity — an intangible trait that he felt didn’t necessarily light up the stat sheet.
“He never took a game off. A possession off,” he wrote. “I can’t say that of anyone else I played with, and I played with some of the best.
