"Life is not given to none of us"- Kevin Garnett says Kobe Bryant's death inspired him to squash beef with Ray Allen
Kevin Garnett had a falling out with his former Boston Celtics teammate Ray Allen when he signed with rivals Miami Heat. However, Garnett has moved on and mended fences with Allen.
On Kevin Hart's "Cold as Balls" show, Garnett opened up about how Kobe Bryant's death made him realize that it was time to end the beef. "The Big Ticket" revealed that he would be crushed if something happened to Allen and they never had the chance to reconcile.
"The passing of Kobe and all of us getting older helped me understand that life is not given to none of us," Garnett said. "It would have f**ked with me if something were to happen to Ray, and I didn't get a chance to amend this."
Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant had many battles in the Western Conference during the early part of their career. Bryant and the LA Lakers needed to go through Garnett and the Minnesota Timberwolves in the playoffs.
When Garnett was traded to the Boston Celtics, they immediately faced off in the 2008 NBA Finals. The Celtics prevailed, while the Lakers got their revenge two years later.
Both were competitors but were friends off the court. When Bryant tragically passed away from a helicopter crash in 2020, Garnett was one of the players who was devastated by the tragedy.
"I ain't going to front, man, since Kobe died, it's been like upside down," Garnett told the Associated Press. "2020 has been (awful), so I've just been trying to maintain and appreciating some of the small intangible things and actually enjoying life a little bit or trying to and be productive."
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Ray Allen in attendance during Kevin Garnett's jersey retirement ceremony
The Boston Celtics retired Kevin Garnett's No. 5 jersey last year and finally squashed his beef with Ray Allen in public. Allen was in attendance during the ceremony, as well as other members of the 2008 championship team.
In the final moments of the ceremony, Garnett gave a shoutout to Allen and told him that his No. 20 jersey would be retired by the Celtics next. Garnett, Allen and Paul Pierce all hugged to end the ceremony as the fans inside the TD Garden cheered.
"It's good to see Ray Allen here, man," Garnett said. "Real, sh*t. It's good to see you here, Ray. You next! Ray's next, dammit."
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