Before the Miami Heat formed their Big 3 in 2010, there was one in Boston that ruled the Eastern Conference for three seasons. In the 2007 offseason, the Celtics signed Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett, paired them with Paul Pierce, and went from missing the playoffs two years in a row to winning the championship in their first season together. Their reign of terror built animosity between them and the rest of the teams in the East, and Udonis Haslem hasn’t let go of it to this day, which Lou Williams finds silly.
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During a recent episode of The OGs podcast, the Heat icon revealed that he still has enough disdain for the Celtics’ Big 3 to get into a physical altercation with them. He told former teammates, Dwyane Wade and Mike Miller,
“I just wanna fight for real. That’s the problem, I still want to fight… You probably don’t want to be around if we run into any of them names he named.”
The three-time NBA champion’s astonishing revelation left Lou Williams perplexed and he told Haslem on the Run It Back podcast that wasn’t worth it to continue holding on to a grudge against his former rivals. He said,
“Gentlemen, we are too old to be throwing hands at each other, at this juncture in our lives. UD, let that go bro.“
Lou Williams Reacts To @ThisIsUD Still Wanting To Fight @KevinGarnett5KG & @paulpierce34
"We are too old to be throwing hands. … UD, let that go, bruh." – @TeamLou23
"It could be the opener to this @MikeTyson–@jakepaul debacle that's happening this week." – @MichelleDBeadle pic.twitter.com/iTEQ9XR2rz
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) November 11, 2024
Haslem still holding on to ill feelings towards the Celtics’ Big 3 is indeed a bit senseless. During their reign of terror, the Heat weren’t contenders to win the title, as they won 15 games in 2007-08, 43 in 2008-09 and 47 in 2009-10.
Boston thrashed them 4-1 in the first round of the 2010 playoffs, but it proved to be a blessing in disguise for Haslem and the Heat, as it pushed team president Pat Riley and the front office to have one of, if not the greatest summer for any team in NBA history.
Dwyane Wade admitted that Kevin Garnett’s Celtics paved the way
During a Players Only interview with Kevin Garnett. Dwyane Wade told the Hall of Hamer that the Celtics’ Big 3, which had become a Big 4 by 2010, was the reason why Pat Riley and the Heat chased LeBron James and Chris Bosh in the 2010 offseason, and why the trio of superstars decided to take less money to team up in Miami. He revealed,
“Y’all were the sole reason we got together. We can’t compete with Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, (Rajon) Rondo.“
James had suffered the most at the hands of the Celtics’ Big 3, as they eliminated him and the Cavaliers twice from the playoffs in their first three years together. He was frustrated about Cleveland’s inability to bring in co-stars to help him take down Pierce, Garnett Allen, and Rondo, prompting him to team up with Wade and Bosh in Miami.
The trio agreeing to take less than what they would have gotten on another team left the Heat with enough cap space to retain Haslem, who was also a free agent in 2010. Together, the quartet swept the Celtics in the second round of the playoffs in 2011 and beat them 4-3 in the iconic 2012 Eastern Conference Finals en route to their maiden NBA title.
To add insult to injury, the Heat broke up the Big 3 by signing Ray Allen in the 2012 offseason, and he hit one of the greatest clutch shots in NBA history in Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals against the Spurs to keep the series alive.
Miami would go on to win the title for the second straight season, rubbing salts into the Celtics’ wounds, who had a successful run with their Big 3, but could only win one championship. Given what transpired, Garnett and Pierce have more of a right to harbor disdain toward the Heat, but Haslem doesn’t see it that way.
