“We made Ray and Rondo actually box it out. They had so much beef.” —@KendrickPerkins on the tension between Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo

Watch the full episode with @jj_redick and @talter: https://t.co/s0iPtO4mk9 pic.twitter.com/LKY0dPLkE7

— TheOldMan&TheThree (@OldManAndThree) June 25, 2022

I live for stories like this about old championship winning teams and the late 2000s Celtics are one of my favorite teams of all time. Just a group of aging veterans/hyper competitive alpha males/future Hall of Famers all chasing their first ring, thrown together with a no bullshit head coach and a capricious young point guard infamous for destroying children in games of Connect Four.

Sounds like a disaster waiting to happen when you say it like that.

Rondo was like the younger brother picking fights with all the biggest guys in the neighborhood, which at times made him more Tommy Devito than John Stockton. So it’s no surprise that Allen, who always seemed to be wanting more credit for the Celtics’ dominance, butted heads with a vocal and at times volatile young Rondo.

Rondo vs Ray was never a well kept secret, but I had no idea they actually, physically came to blows. That’s the kind of shit we did in our high school locker room to blow off some steam or settle a score so I get it, but I’m describing a group of 17-year-olds. This little parquet fight club was taking place when Rondo was 22 and Ray was a fully grown man at 32-years-old!

I can only imagine Doc Rivers and his gravelly voice in the background just reminding everyone about the first (and second) rule of Fight Club, which Perk finally broke all these years later.

This only adds to the legendary stories of just how unhinged that 2008 Celtics team truly was including Kevin Garnett’s arm wrestling dominance:

“KG tops it all off with a classic Garnett moment, screaming I’m the Alpha Male in this bitch. This guy is the most competitive person in the history of the world and I don’t think thats an exaggeration”

God I miss Perk. #Celtics #AnythingIsPossible pic.twitter.com/8NjjKzuyMw

— The 300s (@The300sBoston) May 30, 2018