Credits: USA Today Sports
Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce recently discussed how the Boston Celtics’ Secret Santa ritual underwent a significant change due to an odd gift. Pierce triggered the conversation on Showtime Basketball‘s KG Certified by revealing “the most memorable gift [he] remember someone gave to someone else.” The Truth started to crack up while disclosing that it was Leon Powe’s gift to Ray Allen that cracked everyone up.
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“Leon Power gave Ray Allen the whole season of Martin on DVD,” stated a giddy Paul Pierce. “Ray Allen got the whole season of Martin Lawrence. We start cracking up.“
Pierce brought KG into the conversation by recalling how he had received a Gucci Bag as his gift while Allen had to settle for DvDs of the popular sitcom. The two Celtics legends then reminisced about the reaction of the sharpshooter after receiving the present.
As everyone around him couldn’t stop laughing, Ray Allen wondered, “Man, who was my Secret Santa?” This hilarious incident led to the Celtics deciding on a minimum price tag for their Secret Santa gift.
“Then we had to put rules into that after that. Gift got to be $500,000, man,” declared KG. Pierce and Garnett revealed how everyone on the team had received designer bags with gold laces from some of the most expensive brands in the market. Meanwhile, Ray Allen had to settle for what Pierce and KG deemed as a last minute Best Buy purchase.
The former Celtics teammates couldn’t stop laughing at Leon Powe who was the secret Santa responsible for giving Ray Allen a copy of the Martin Payne-led 1990s comedy series. This story of banter in the Celtics locker room shows just how close the players were to each other.
A healthy locker room that can laugh together, or at each other, often indicates a healthy franchise. The camaraderie of the Celtics earned them the 2008 NBA Championship. The Boston team that won the 2008 Finals had several stars in it. However, the healthy relationship between them allowed them to play in tandem and edge out a quality Los Angeles Lakers side.
This hilarious tale still lives on thanks to the Secret Santa ritual that has been in the league for around two decades. Apparently, LeBron James was one of those who first started this ritual.
LeBron James started the Secret Santa in the NBA?
Just a week before 2013’s Christmas Eve, then Miami Heat Forward LeBron James had claimed that he was responsible for the start of the Secret Santa ritual in the league. He asserted, “I was one of the culprits. I never take full credit for anything, but I was definitely one of the ones.”
This question came up when the Miami Heat were engaging in this ritual around a week before their Lakers’ Christmas Day fixture. They had placed an undisclosed minimum amount for gifts. Defensive stopper Shane Battier came up with perhaps the most intriguing gift. He gave a telescope to All-Star Forward Chris Bosh.
