Former NBA Champion, Who Prayed for LeBron James’ Downfall, Unveils Bizarre Beef That Was Resolved With a “Boxing Match”

The Boston Celtics are one of the most illustrious franchises in NBA history. The team has produced arguably some of the greatest players of all time. The franchise also has had a couple of unforgettable championship-winning rosters. The 2007-08 Celtics team is probably one of the most memorable squads in the franchise’s history.

During the 2007-08 season, the new-look Celtics experienced one of the most spectacular seasons in NBA history. They went 24-58 the season prior and had failed to make the playoffs for the second year running. However, what transpired the following season was a major boost for the Celtics as a franchise. They went 66-16 and captured the NBA title against the Kobe Bryant-led Los Angeles Lakers, ending a 22-year championship drought.

The squad might have been one of the most memorable; however, it had its fair share of controversies. One of them was the renowned beef between Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo.

Kendrick Perkins was a member of the Celtics’ 2007-08 roster. The big man had the best seat in the house to witness the feud between the two. He recently decided to shed some light on the subject. He also went on to reveal how the two settled their differences.

Kendrick Perkins revealed how Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo boxed out their beef

The Boston Celtics‘ firepower tormented the rest of the league on a routine basis, but tensions were brewing behind the curtains. Their backcourt pairing of Allen and Rondo had a spat. It became so heated that they arranged a boxing bout to reconcile.

As per ‘Big Perk’, a feud between the two stars started to brew when Rondo got to know that Allen wanted the Celtics to trade him for Chris Paul. Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett were apparently opposed to the idea, but Allen was all onboard. This didn’t sit well with Rondo, and the animosity between the two had become so bitter that they had to box everything out.

“We made Ray and Rondo actually box it out,” Perkins said on JJ Redick?s?The Old Man & the Three podcast. “They had so much beef. We got to the practice facility, we bought the boxing gloves, and they actually had to box it out,” he added.

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It’s reasonable to assume that many people would have emptied their coffers to witness the star-studded boxing match. Perkins, however, did not reveal the winner, but did say that everyone was now on “speaking terms.”?

Despite all?the fuss, it was Ray Allen who left the Celtics first in 2012 to join the Miami Heat.?Several Celtics players despised him for that decision, but Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett resolved their issues?during Garnett’s?jersey retirement, hugging it out on the floor.

It’s unknown whether Rondo and Allen are still at odds. Nonetheless, this boxing anecdote is unquestionably one of the most unusual NBA stories ever.

Perkins wanted LeBron James to somehow sustain an injury in the 2008 postseason

While the Celtics won it all that season, their journey to the ultimate silverware wasn’t an easy one. The team had to go through LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals.

There are several instances of how LeBron has continued to terrorize his adversaries throughout his storied career. Kendrick Perkins is the most recent person to declare how the sight of LeBron James terrified him. His fear of ‘The King’ was so profound that he prayed for the superstar to get injured.

“We played the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2008 and it was a Game 7 right. We had just lost Game 6 and I ain’t gonna lie man, I was scared as hell going into that Game 7 against LeBron James,” Perkins said.

He added, “This was the only time that I actually prayed that something happened to him at practice. I’m being real. I was like let us get breaking news that LeBron has tore his ACL or something. I’m not even lying, I’m not even exaggerating.”?

JJ Redick was caught off guard by Perkins’ comments, as he couldn’t understand why he would make such a bizarre confession. ?I?m gonna have to edit this out,? JJ Redick stated. Perkins, however, urged Redick to keep his comments in the episode.

LeBron James, however, did not get injured. Instead, he dropped 45 points on the Celtics. Despite his massive scoring outburst, the Celtics topped the Cavs.

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LeBron James is still performing at a high level at the age of 37. His longevity is well documented in the NBA annals. It is reasonable to assume that an ACL injury to James would have resulted in an entirely different NBA history.

Many good players’ ascension to greatness has been blocked by ACL injuries. Fair to say, an injury of that magnitude could have caused James to slow down as well.