As Rajon Rondo, Kevin Garnett and Doc Rivers got together at TD Garden for Paul Pierce’s jersey retirement on Sunday, fellow Boston champion Ray Allen was a notable absentee.
Allen, it turns out, was on the golf course instead (where else?).
It was vaguely reminiscent of the still-bitter Chris Webber opting against watching Michigan play in the 2013 National Championship game with his former Fab Five teammates.
But now Allen has congratulated Pierce over Instagram, a full two days after the ceremony.
“What we did in 2008 was special!,” Allen said in the post. “Not only by Boston standards but by professional sports standards. The truth is, without any one of us on that team we would’ve never been able to do the unthinkable. Going from last place in one year to winning a championship is unfathomable…”
While it’s certainly better than nothing, Allen’s 48-hour late post from a remote golfing location is a bit like skipping someone’s birthday and sending them an eCard instead.
Paul Pierce says he wasn’t disappointed Ray Allen was on the golf course yesterday pic.twitter.com/nzMrfuXGJQ
— Andrew Joseph (@AndyJ0seph) February 12, 2018
For those who don’t recall the events of 2012, Allen was shut out by his then Boston teammates the moment he left for the rival Miami Heat.
He moved the summer after the Heat beat the Celtics in game seven of the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals, a move which has quite a Kevin Durant-ish vibe about it.
But his relationship with his fellow Boston stars had long been tumultuous even before his departure.