Kevin Garnett Claims Boston Celtics "Broke" LeBron James, Miami Heat

Anthony Pasciolla | May 16, 2024

June 3, 2012; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics power forward Kevin Garnett (5) and Miami Heat small; Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports / David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

The Miami Heat-Boston Celtics rivalry dates back to LeBron James' time with the team, where he faced a core of Kevin Garnett, Rajon Rondo, and Paul Pierce multiple times.

In 2010, James' tenure with the Cleveland Cavaliers came to an end at the hands of Garnett and the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The following year, James claimed his revenge on Boston, but it came alongside stars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami.

In 2019, sports personality Bill Simmons was joined by Garnett, who didn't hold back on James and the Heat.

"We broke LeBron, so get your ass out of here with that," Garnett said. "So they were talking [expletive] to him, the media, and the league knew that they had an agenda that we weren't apart of, and that's how they ended up winning that series. Man, listen, we didn't give a [expletive] about LeBron; we didn't fear LeBron, and we didn't think he could beat all five of us, and thats how it felt."

The Heat had no issues defeating Garnett and the Celtics in the postseason once James entered the equation. In 2012, the Heat and Celtics faced off in the Eastern Conference Finals in an intense seven-game series, where coach Erik Spoelstra went on to win their first championship in the Big Three era.

Anthony Pasciolla works as a contributing writer to Inside the Heat. He can be reached at ampasciolla@gmail.com or follow him on Instagram @anthony.pasciolla.

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