Paul Pierce Gets Candid on Why Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen Hated Each Other

Former Boston Celtics star Paul Pierce spoke about the rift between former teammates Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen.

Paul Pierce Gets Candid on Why Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen Hated Each Other

Paul Pierce on the rift between Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen (Image credits - FirstSportz)

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Paul Pierce has been vocal before about how Ray Allen‘s move to the Miami Heat did not go down well with his Boston Celtics teammates, especially Rajon Rondo. The three of them were key players when Boston lifted the NBA championship in 2008.

Rondo and Allen had a complicated relationship that evolved from mentorship to friction. Allen’s move to the Miami Heat was one of the most shocking moves in NBA history. He did not just join a direct rival in the Eastern Conference but also joined a side with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. The move affected Pierce a lot as he felt it would be better if Allen joined Kobe Bryant and the Lakers over James.

One of the notions of Allen leaving was his relationship with Rondo. Many felt Rondo formed better bonds with Pierce and Kevin Garnett, leaving Allen on the outside. But Rondo said he had nothing to do with Allen’s decision.

On No Fouls Given, Pierce spoke about the beef between the two former teammates.

I don’t know. This is what I think it was, it felt like Ray felt like Rondo wasn’t giving him the ball enough. As in, he was favoring to other people. Favoring it to me, I don’t know that’s what I think it is. I’ve heard other things but I know that Rondo is one of the most unselfish guys.

Paul Pierce revealed

The move paid off for Allen in the end as the shooting guard went on to win his second championship in 2013, helping Miami in Game 6 with one of the clutchest shots in NBA history to tie the game at the end of regulation.

Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo boxing match

Their beef was not just after Allen left but while they were teammates as well. They went so far that they once threw on boxing gloves and went at it in the weight room.

Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo
Ray Allen (Left) and Rajon Rondo (Right) (Image credits – Sports Illustrated)

Former Celtics player Kendrick Perkins, who was the center during the time, first revealed the Allen-Rondo fight in 2022. Perkins said the beef started over Allen’s desire to have the Celtics include Rondo in a trade for Chris Paul, and that did not sit well with Rondo. Rondo discussed the brief bout last year during an appearance on Run It Back.

It wasn’t to settle the feud, but we damn sure put the gloves on. … There was no point in talking about each other behind each other’s back, let’s just fight as men. But it got broken up pretty quickly.

Pace of the league has changed a lot in the NBA

It is well known that the NBA is having issues with the increase in the number of injuries lately. With every passing week, the injury list keeps piling up. NBA star players are missing twice as many games as they did in 2023-24.

One of the main reasons for this is due to the change in the pace of the league. The modern-day NBA is played at a very high pace, and the spacing of the modern game are the two major factors.

While Danny Green spoke about how the pace of the league is resulting in more injuries, Pierce had a different view on why the pace of the league is what it is today.

The reason the pace is the way it is because they take more bad shots. You come down launch a three, it doesn’t mean you are running more than the players before. You have to play through screens, you have to play through some methodical offenses, I have an argument for all the errors now.

With all the injuries piling, the NBA is launching a league-wide biomechanics assessment program to help prevent injuries.

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