“We Stopped All That”: Dwyane Wade Recounts Ruining Paul Pierce and Celtics’ Short-Lived Glory in 2008

Boston Celtics stepped onto the court today to put an end to whatever little hope Dallas had. Jalen Brown and Co. witnessed their 18th banner hanging high after 16 years as they defeated the Mavs 106-88 in game 5 of the finals. Before their historic win, Heat legend, Dwyane Wade had a bit to reminisce about the 2008 Celtics, and not a pleasant say at that.

During their spectacular run to grab the rings in 2008, the C’s absolutely dominated every other team, including Wade’s Heat, who didn’t make it to the playoffs. Wade although devastated, decided to come back with vengeance. When LeBron James joined the Heat back in 2010, it looked like ‘Flash’ had found the perfect partner in him and Chris Bosh. The trio went on a legendary run winning consecutive titles in 2012 and 2013. Boston on the other hand faced a tough time. Even after entering the finals in 2009, they fell short against La Lakers.

Recently, Dwyane revealed the actual reason for the Celtics’ downfall back in the day. In an exclusive conversation with The Wine Down Podcast, the ex-Heat legend mentioned, “You won’t see a lot of Boston Celtics 2008 that come together in 1 year and win a championship. Because ain’t no habits been built really. That’s a special year for those guys that’s why that one championship that they won feel like when they talk to you they feel like they won 12.”

Before their 2008 victory, the Celtics had only reached the finals in 1987. The team saw worthy additions in Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen who were only acquired in the off-season and went on to complement a well-established Paul Pierce. It was a huge win for the Celtics, finishing the regular season 66-16 and finals 4-2. However, Wade believes it was short-lived due to a newly built roster and goes on to highlight the outcome that was delivered through championship draught with him and the Heat at the forefront.

The 42-year-old said, “Yeah you feel like when you hear Paul and them talking you be like ‘How many championships did you win’. Yeah, shoutout to the 08 Boston Celtics they did something special. But we stopped all that.” 

Celtics have indeed struggled to clinch a title since then, considering they made it to the finals just twice. But Jason Tatum and Co. followed the 2008 suit. Dominated the regular season for 64-18 and nearly had a clean sweep for their league-high 18th championship to the Heat’s three so far. They claimed their title on the same day Paul Pierce and Co. had 16 years earlier.

A brief history of the rivalry between Heat and the  Celtics

Although the two teams have always been after each other, things escalated after 2010 when Heat’s ‘Big 3′ outperformed the Celtics’ ‘Big 3’. Following that Heat made 4 consecutive final appearances while also winning 2 of them. In 2011 they completely annihilated the C’s making a strong statement for the NBA world. However, in the finals team fell short against the Dallas Mavericks.

A year after that the two faced again in the Eastern Conference finals. Miami in the beginning led by 2-0. However, the C’s soon took over and almost got Heat eliminated 3-2. Soon came ‘King James’ to the rescue in what is called one of the best performances of his career. His 45 points, 15 rebounds, and 19 of 26 from the field in game 6, carried the Heat from the clutches of loss to ultimately win their first championship since 2006 that year.

After that Boston traded their ‘Big 3’ and soon James too moved on and the rest is history.

What do you think about this rivalry and what are your views on Wade’s comments? Let us know in the comments below.

And Before leaving, be sure to check out some insights that Shaquille O’Neal’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, shared about WNBA stars, Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark.