Former NBA veteran Ray Allen reminisced on his playing days seven years after he decided to hang up his sneakers. Allen went on to share insights on his encounters with late Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant as a member of the Boston Celtics from 2007 to 2012.
Despite the countless battles, the two players never went at each other and only showed respect on and off the floor. Allen admitted as much:
“Honestly, no. Between me and Kobe, there wasn't any trash-talking. There was a mutual respect. The trash-talking just never happened between us,” Allen said via CBS Sports.
The longstanding rivalry between the Celtics and Lakers was rekindled when Allen joined Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett back in 2007 to form the pioneering Big Three of the modern era.
At the same time, Bryant was also in his prime as an established star of the Lakers. The two teams met in the 2008 NBA Finals, where the Celtics won a 4-2 series victory over the Lakers, with Pierce winning Finals MVP after KG won Defensive Player of the Year in the regular season.
The two teams crossed paths on the championship stage once more in the 2009-10 season. Bryant and his Lakers squad avenged their previous loss and emerged victorious against their rival with a 4-3 series win. The Purple and Gold snagged their second consecutive title as Bryant was named Finals MVP.
Allen and Kobe unfortunately never faced each other in the NBA Finals again, but the legendary sharpshooter did win one more NBA title. After packing his bags to join LeBron James and the Miami Heat in 2012, Allen played a key role in the Heat's 2013 title run, with everybody remembering his epic clutch shot in Game 6 of the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs. Miami wound up winning in seven games.
At the end of the day, Ray Allen's story about Kobe Bryant shows how both of them had the utmost respect for each other despite being rivals on the floor.
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