LeBron James’ decision to team up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami is commonly pointed to as the start of the modern superteam era that has dominated the NBA this decade, but before the Heat had a Big 3, the Boston Celtics won a title after assembling a team with three legendary players in Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce.
James single-handedly led a historically weak Cavaliers roster to the NBA Finals in 2007, but just days after that series ended in a Spurs sweep, the Celtics acquired Allen in a trade. A month later, Boston welcomed Garnett in another major trade, and the new-look Celtics went on to win 66 games in the regular season and beat the Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals.
The Celtics eliminated LeBron’s Cavaliers from the playoffs in 2008 and 2010 before James relocated to Miami. The Heat then knocked the Celtics out 4-1 in 2011, but were pushed to the limit by Boston’s Big 3 in the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals, which went to seven games. In a conversation with The Ringer’s Bill Simmons, Kevin Garnett said the Celtics lost that series because of an “agenda” that existed for LeBron’s team to win, and boasted that the Celtics “didn’t give a [expletive]” about James.
“We broke LeBron. So get your a** out of here with that.”
Watch to find out what exactly @KevinGarnett5KG is referencing. #BSPodcast pic.twitter.com/VwEfLwLyfj
— The Ringer (@ringer) December 18, 2019
Bill Simmons: “Celtics win in Miami [in 2012], and they’re talking all kinds of [expletive] to LeBron. All kinds of [expletive that whole game. Correct or incorrect? You’re trying to get into his head. You feel like you can break LeBron at this point.”
Kevin Garnett: “We broke LeBron, so get your [expletive] out of here with that. You understand how he got to Cleveland, how he got to Miami, Bill? You remember that?”
Simmons: “Oh that’s true. You broke him in 2010. Fair enough.”
Garnett: “OK, so remember that, alright? Stop bringing it up. So they was talking [expletive] to him, the media. And the league knew that they had an agenda in which we wasn’t a part of the agenda. And that’s how they ended up winning that series. Yeah, I said it…. Man listen, let me tell something to you. The C’s, we didn’t give a [expletive] about LeBron. We didn’t fear LeBron, and we didn’t think that he could beat all five of us. And that’s how it felt. He was trying to consolidate because he didn’t want the pressure on him. You understand?”
The Heat were down 3-2 in the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals after a Game 5 loss at home, but James had one of the greatest performances of his career on the road in Game 6. James finished the game with 45 points, 15 rebounds and 5 assists to lead Miami to a 98-79 win.
“We broke Lebron” ~ Kevin Garnett pic.twitter.com/CRllY4ExJk
— Griselda Records A&R (@el_budget) December 18, 2019
[jwplayer gErwNHhT-q2aasYxh]
[vertical-gallery id=878624]