Ray Allen Congratulates Paul Pierce, Discusses Celtics Tenure In Instagram Post

A lot has been made of Ray Allen missing Paul Pierce’s jersey retirement ceremony at TD Garden on Sunday.

The former Boston Celtics sharpshooter posted a photo of himself on the golf course during Pierce’s ceremony, and while some pundits found it uncalled for that Allen missed his former teammate’s day, Pierce casually shrugged it off.

Allen broke his silence Tuesday when he congratulated Pierce — whose No. 34 now hangs from the TD Garden rafters — in an Instagram post discussing his time with the Celtics.

View this post on Instagram

What we did in 2008 was special! 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. But, we did it! WE did it- Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Rajon Rondo, Tony Allen, P.J. Brown, Sam Cassell, Glen Davis, Eddie House, Kendrick Perkins, Scott Pollard, James Posey, Leon Powe, Gabe Pruitt, Brian Scalabrine, Doc, Danny, everyone at the Celtics Organization, our wives, children, families, the Fans in The City of Boston and yes, me. Over the last few years I have been berated, lambasted and had my name smeared. You may not want to hear this, but I will always be a Celtic. (Fact). I will always cherish the bonds that I shared with all of my teammates and the people in the city of Boston. (Truth). We all gave everything we had. We all won and we all raised the 2008 NBA Championship banner together. (Ubuntu) Paul Pierce is the first guy that welcomed Kevin and me with open arms into his atmosphere from day one and we never looked back. Paul and I have spoken about our time together as teammates- going to battle night after night knowing we could count on one another and we have also talked about my decision to leave during free agency- a choice I made for my family. Despite what you may have heard or read or what is rumored- there is nothing but love. Paul and I are more interested in building bridges than putting up walls. To Paul, number 34, Congratulations on having your number raised up to the rafters. I salute you for your commitment to the city of Boston and to us the 2008 NBA Champions #thetruth

A post shared by Ray Allen (@trayfour) on Feb 13, 2018 at 2:45pm PST

The friction between Allen and his former teammates, most notably Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo, started when the surefire Hall of Famer elected to head to the Miami Heat to play with LeBron James following the 2012 season instead of re-signing with the Celtics.

Allen’s post claims he and Pierce have no hard feelings, and if that were true, we don’t see any reason Allen wouldn’t have been at TD Garden.