Kobe Bryant’s tragic death pushed Kevin Garnett to end his feud with ex-Celtics teammate Ray Allen

Kevin Garnett has revealed Kobe Bryant’s tragic death urged him to end his feud with former Boston Celtics teammate Ray Allen. 

Allen and Garnett, along with Paul Pierce were known as the Boston Celtics’ Big Three during their five seasons together, winning the 2008 NBA championship over the LA Lakers. 

However, their relationship soured when Allen left the Celtics to join the Miami Heat in 2012 with the move causing friction between him and Garnett because the latter took offense due to Miami’s status as championship favorites at the time. 

The trio did not reconcile until the NBA’s 75th-anniversary event in 2021 and Garnett has now revealed that the decision to make amends was inspired by Bryant’s passing. 

Bryant died in January 2020 helicopter crash that also took the lives of his daughter Gianna and seven others.

Kevin Garnett (R) and Ray Allen (L) played five season together with the Celtics until 2012

Garnett revealed Kobe Bryant’s tragic death urged him to end his feud with his ex-teammate

‘It would have f****d with me if something were to happen to Ray and I didn’t get a chance to amend this,’ Garnett said on Kevin Hart’s Cold as Balls. 

He also explained why Ray’s switch to the Heat caused such a rift between the trio, admitting that he had viewed the situation selfishly. 

‘What made the Ray situation so prolific with us is because the structure we built in Boston, the three of us built that,’ Garnett said of his time with Allen and Pierce on the Celtics. 

‘If there was one team that we had an issue with, it was Miami,’ he added. ‘I wasn’t looking at it like it’s a business decision for Ray. Ray had a chance to get another ring. I didn’t take on none of that. I was in my own feelings, so I was super competitive. Everybody who knows me knows I’m like that.’ 

He then credited Bryant’s tragic death as the motivation to end his feud with his former teammate.  

Allen attended Garnett’s jersey retirement at TD Garden, indicating the pair are on good terms

‘The passing of Kob and all of us getting older helped me understand that life is not given to none of us,’ Garnett said. 

Miami had been Boston’s main rival at the time and the Celtics had just lost to LeBron James and the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals, so the wound was fresh in 2012.

But last year, Allen attended Garnett’s jersey retirement at TD Garden, indicating that the pair are back on good terms. 

They hugged each other on the stage and Garnett said Allen should be the next Celtic to have his jersey retired.