Kendrick Perkins says that Boston Celtics stars Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen once fought with boxing gloves at practice to settle their differences. The former NBA player discussed the infamous beef during a recent appearance on JJ Redick’s podcast, The Old Man & The Three.
“When things started to go south, in my opinion, the first incident was when Ray was pushing so hard to trade Rondo for [Chris Paul],” Perkins explained. “It got back to Rondo. Right there we started having a little friction.”
Ronald Martinez / Getty Images
He recalled: “We made Ray and Rondo actually box it out. They had so much beef. We got to the practice facility, we bought the boxing gloves, and they actually had to box it out.”
Just a few years removed from winning a championship with the Celtics in 2008, Allen left the team for the rival Miami Heat in 2012. He won a championship with the LeBron James-led squad in 2013 and had a scarred relationship with Boston for years.
Nowadays, Allen has mostly mended his relationships with his former teammates. Allen returned to Boston’s TD Garden, earlier this year, to help celebrate Kevin Garnett’s jersey retirement.
“I’m glad we got it back together now,” Perkins concluded. “Ray, you saw him at the Boston game, he went and supported [Kevin Garnett]. Everybody’s back on talking terms.”
Perkins played for the Celtics from 2003–2011. He eventually retired as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2018.
Check out Perkins’ full comments below.
[Via]