"Team you knew we was beefing": Kevin Garnett reveals why Ray Allen going to Heatles created a wedge between them
Kevin Garnett has opened up about his issues with Ray Allen on a recent episode of "The Stephen A. Smith Show." The former NBA champion discussed his former teammate joining the Miami Heat.
After heading to Miami, the Celtics big three era was over, and the team quickly began to fall out of the championship picture. Allen, however, won a championship in his first year (2008) with the Heat, where he teamed up with LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.
Miami was so stacked, that fans even coined their team "The Heatles," a moniker that has now become synonymous with LeBron's tenure on South Beach.
"I took that so personal because out of all the places, man," Garnett said. "You could have went to LA. You could have went to a whole other team. You went to the one team you knew we was beefing with. You knew that was a real beef with us bro, so yeah if anybody knows anything about me I wasn't feeling that."
Kevin Garnett has never hidden his feelings over Allen's decision. "The Big Ticket" has remained steadfast in his displeasure at seeing one of the Celtics' core players head to a direct rival as soon as they formed a superteam. The fact that he instantly won another ring while the Celtics lost in the first round, added more insult to injury.
Kevin Garnett wants NBA fans to embrace the new era of talent
In the same podcast appearance, Kevin Garnett discussed the current level of talent in the NBA. The legendary forward noted how fans and the media are missing out on arguably the greatest era of talent due to their desire to compare everyone with players from years past.
"The problem I think with today is that we're so hung up on yesteryear, the culture, the history that built the league, that we're missing out on greatness right in front of us," Garnett said. "LeBron James is 38 … years old, doing something we ain't never seen. We've got a 7-foot-6 Frenchman in the … league … He nutmegged a guard … We gotta get off this."
Garnett continued:
"I say this to the world. We gotta get over this. Michael Jordan, Magic [Johnson], they are the past. We gotta embrace this new ish. We ain't never seen nothing like Steph Curry."
Certainly, NBA is in a good spot right now, with elite young talents, many players entering their prime, and some in the final stages of their careers.