Source: Icon Sports Wire / Getty
The competitive nature of sports is usually seen on the court and field, and players in opposing uniforms are usually sizing each other up.
However, when inner turmoil boils over, teammates may even be about that action, including one of the most memorable teams in NBA history, the Boston Celtics’ big three of Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Rajon Rondo as an honorable mention.
Rondo spoke about his rift with Allen on a recent episode of Fanduel’s Run It Back, which was hosted by Shams Charania, Chandler Parsons, Michelle Beadle and Lou Williams. He revealed that while things did get physical, it was organized violence—gloves included.
Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen put boxing gloves on and really threw hands
@RajonRondo: “There was no point in talking about each other behind each others back, let’s just fight as men” pic.twitter.com/10eTj01SdL
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) May 28, 2024
“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. We were fighting in the weight room, equipment got hit a little bit, people got knocked back.” Rondo said.
When pressed about who won, Rondo refuses to answer and would rather let his former teammates say who won the quick sparring match.
Rondo doesn’t just leak his fight, but mentioned that Glen Davis and Tony Allen also fought, hilariously saying that, “Big Baby sat him down quickly.”
Rondo’s claims back up what longtime teammate Kendrick Perkins said back in 2022, revealing that the fight came when Allen wanted to trade Rondo for another elite point guard in Chris Paul.
“I think right there we started having a little friction, right? We made Ray and Rondo actually box it out. They had so much beef, we got to the practice facility, we brought the boxing gloves, and they actually had to box it out because we just didn’t wanna have the tension no more.”
“We made Ray and Rondo actually box it out. They had so much beef.” —@KendrickPerkins on the tension between Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo
Watch the full episode with @jj_redick and @talter: https://t.co/s0iPtO4mk9 pic.twitter.com/LKY0dPLkE7
— TheOldMan&TheThree (@OldManAndThree) June 25, 2022
Having beef with Allen seemed to be a theme that Garnett and Paul Pierce shared, partially because he abruptly left Boston after the 2012 season for the Miami Heat.
Below, see how social media is reacting to Rondo’s admission that his feud with Allen ended in a boxing match.
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