Doc Rivers Shared Moment With 2008 ‘Big Three’ After Celtics Banner Night

BOSTON — When the Celtics raised their record-setting 18th banner to begin a clean slate as reigning champs on Opening Night, a long-awaited reunion between Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen came to life.

The “Big Three” of 2008, responsible for the organization’s 17th banner, walked side by side 16 years after its championship ceremony to return Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and the rest of the current day’s squad with its Larry O’Brien Trophy. It wasn’t just a special moment for Pierce, Garnett, Allen and the thousands of passionate fans in attendance, but for former Celtics — and current Milwaukee Bucks — head coach Doc Rivers too.

Rivers, who returned to Boston for a Celtics-Bucks clash on Monday night, revealed that the ’08 trio reached out following the banner raising.

“It’s amazing (to win in Boston), as the people (in the city) who’ve been here would understand it,” Rivers said at TD Garden pregame. “It was cool. Each guy sent me that picture separately. I think they were trying to tell me, ‘Hey, look at us. We get along.’ It was hilarious. I got a bing, then I got a bing and then I got a bing. So it was pretty funny. It was cool to see though. It needed to be seen. There’s a lot of cities and this city winning is pretty special. There’s no doubt about that.”

Soon after Pierce, Garnett and Allen conquered Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers in 2008, and nearly déjà vu’d them again in 2010, the franchise abruptly shifted from contenders to rebuilders. Allen was the first to depart the Celtics, joining LeBron James and the Miami Heat in 2012 to spark speculated animosity within the group. Allen also didn’t attend Pierce’s jersey retirement ceremony in 2018, fueling the assumptions.

Now, with over a decade’s time passed by, the ’08 trio no longer cares to buy into the outsider narratives.

“I think more than anything, it’s for the fans,” Allen told Heavy Sports on Banner Night. “Because when you look at a group like, say, Boyz II Men, one guy went, but everybody wants to see that original group together. People selfishly want to go back to those days and remember them for what they were and what they brought to them.”

Rivers remains close, at the helm of arguably Boston’s strongest rival in the Eastern Conference. The 63-year-old accepted the gig as Milwaukee’s head coach shortly after joining ESPN to work with its broadcast team. Year 1 for the Rivers-led Bucks didn’t quite fall under Milwaukee’s vision as the team endured the ultimate blow by losing Giannis Antetokounmpo (left calf strain) for the entire 2024 playoffs.

The Celtics are scheduled to see Rivers and the Bucks three times in the regular season, and could welcome Pierce, Garnett and Allen back again pending Boston’s title defense results in a successful second straight trip across the finish line.