"You put my mother on the floor, and if she were in a Boston Celtics uniform, I'd break her face."-LeBron James on how much he hates the Celtics
LeBron has a long history with the Celtics
The NBA is full of rivalries, between teams and players, and sometimes in between the two. It's only natural when two sides face each other numerous times in the playoffs that the animosity rises. One of the most notorious ones is between LeBron James and the Boston Celtics. And this statement from 2012 definitely shows how intense it is.
Long history
Back in 2018, a reporter by the name of Lee Jenkins shared that LeBron vividly described to him how much he hates the Boston Celtics back in 2012:
"You put my mother on the floor, and if she were in a Boston Celtics uniform, I'd break her face."
LeBron James, Lee Jenkins Twitter
Now that sounds pretty hardcore and unbelievable to hear from a guy like LeBron. But Jenkins is actually a verified reporter that has worked with Sports Illustrated and New York Times, being followed by many notable personalities in the NBA world. So there is no reason for him to make up such statements, but we never got a 100% confirmation that James actually said this.
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But when you look at LeBron's history versus the Celtics, it's not hard to see why he doesn't like them. The Celtics were the first obstacle LeBron simply couldn't overcome in the playoffs. The Big 3 of Pierce, KG, and Allen bounced LeBron out in the 2008 and 2010 playoffs, all while letting him know all about it.
But when James finally moved to Miami with Wade, the tables turned, and his Heat eliminated Boston in 2011 and 2012, which is the year of this apparent statement. Also, in 2012 we got possibly the game of LeBron's life in Game 6 of the ECF, saving Miami from getting bounced out in front of the TD Garden.
It was the end of the Boston Celtics as we knew them, and LeBron became the ultimate king of the Eastern Conference, going to the Finals every year until 2018. Even in those years, he would face Boston three times and win every time, the latest one being in 2018, which was another classic.
It is obvious that every time LeBron plays versus the Celtics or in the TD Garden, his game goes to another level. The reason for that is unknown, but getting bounced out a couple of times early in his career probably left a taste of bad blood.
And to cap it all off, he is a part of the Lakers now, which are the biggest Celtics rival in history. He has managed to tie the two franchises in total championships at 17, but if he wants to finish his career with another blow to Boston, he will have to hope Boston crumbles this year and the Lakers get back on track next season.
