LeBron James was petrified of the infamous Celtics “Big Three” as per $100 million teammate
Ray Allen reveals that LeBron James and the Miami Heat’s Big Three feared the Boston Celtics during the famous battles of the late 2000s.
In the late 2000s, LeBron James and the Miami Heat had some tough battles with the Boston Celtics. James’ last playoff run with the Cleveland Cavaliers before moving to Miami ended in loss. In Miami, LeBron never lost a series to Boston, but he had to overcome an internal conflict to defeat the dominant franchise that had previously defeated him.
Ray Allen, who played for two different championship teams and shared the court with some of the greatest players in history, is the person who can most proudly claim to have been surrounded by elite talent for most of his career.
With LeBron James overtaking Ray Allen for second place all time #NBAPlayoffs list of three… look back @King James reflecting on Allen’s historic game-tying corner 3-pointer in Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals. #NBAVault
🏀: LAL (1-1) HOU, Game 3⏰: 9:00 p.m. ET 📺: TNT pic.twitter.com/SX66QWml0T
— NBA History (@NBAHistory) September 8, 2020
In the Boston Celtics’ Big 3 period in the late 2000s, Allen was a key player. Although he had lost some of his agility, he was still a tremendous danger from beyond the arc and a dominant scorer.
After that, he gave the Miami Heat a much-needed veteran presence and sharpshooter during their 2013 championship run.
Miami was successful despite the absence of Ray Allen, but the addition of Allen altered the makeup of the team in 2012-13. As a result, Boston was irrevocably damaged and Miami became almost unbeatable. Allen realized that the young Miami team had a mental block when playing the 2008 champion Celtics at the time. This was discussed by Allen in “The Posecast”.
Also Read: Charles Barkley Tells a Legendary Story of a Failed Lakers Trade and How He Played Drunk
Ray Allen Reveals LeBron James and Miami Heat Feared the Boston Celtics’ Big 3
In the late 2000s and early 2010s, Hall of Famer Ray Allen had the privilege of playing for two of the best teams in the league. He even won a championship while playing for the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics, in fact.
When the Celtics won the championship in 2008, Allen was an important part of the team, playing with the likes of Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. He left the C’s in 2012, choosing to sign as a free agent and bring his skills to South Beach. He then understood how deeply Boston had stoked the collective fear of this dominant Miami squad.
These guys were terrified of us, pretty much everything we did on a daily basis, Allen told ESPN. “The amazing thing is that I found out how petrified Miami was of Boston,” Allen said.
Allen’s relocation to Miami created quite a stir. Garnett and company harbored resentment towards him because they saw it as a total betrayal on Allen’s part.
Day 160 of 2019
Fun fact: On this day, 7 years ago, the Miami Heat Big 3 eliminated the Boston Celtic Big 3 in Game 7 of the ECF. This would be the last game played together by the Celtic Big 3 when Ray Allen joined the Miami Heat the next season. pic.twitter.com/Pn0QWas27d
– Edsel Jerónimo Laurel (@edsel4) June 9, 2019
We’ll take Allen’s word for it, even if he didn’t explain why or how he knew how threatened Miami was by Boston. It’s probably safe to assume that when he moved to Miami, he also provided some of his own inside information.
Also, read: In a span of 32 months, Michael Jordan once won 3 titles and 2 MVPs without missing a single game!
