On Saturday, former Celtics guard Ray Allen was at TD Garden for a celebration of his induction into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, as the all-time great shooter was honored at a neutral site game between the Allen’s alma mater UConn and the BYU Cougars.

In between the festivities, Allen had time for a short media session, where the two-time NBA champion was asked if he one day would like to see his No. 20 go up in the rafters at TD Garden along fellow Hall of Fame teammates Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett.

“Would you ever imagine your number going up in the rafters here?” asked CLNS’ Bobby Manning. “Is that something you think about? Is that something you want to see happen one day? Like, I don't know if you even think about that.”

“I don't,” Allen said. “You know, I have my number retired at UConn as the first place to have my jersey retired. Such a special honor. That's just like making the Hall of Fame - it's not, it's out of your control.”

“You’ll leave it up to [the Celtics]?” Manning asked in a follow-up.

“Yeah, it's past my - I've done everything that I can do, and I've tried to leave with integrity and be honorable in my pursuits to play this game,” said Allen. “Leave the game in a better place from when I left it, and that's all you can control.”

Celtics on CLNS (@CelticsCLNS) on X Ray Allen talked to @RealBobManning after the BYU-UConn game at the Garden tonight. Does he ever think about his jersey getting retired here? "It's like making the Hall of Fame, it's out of your control. I've done everything that I can do." - @CLNSMedia

In Allen’s five seasons in Boston, he helped the Celtics win the Eastern Conference twice, with one of those two trips to the NBA Finals resulting in the team winning their 17th championship in franchise history.

Allen, along with Garnett, were integral in changing the culture of basketball in Boston. After years of mediocrity with Pierce playing on an island devoid of talent, the addition of two future Hall of Famers immediately vaulted the Celtics from the dregs of the league to the best team in basketball.

Following the 2012 season - a year in which Allen and the Celtics lost in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals to the Miami Heat - the idea of Allen and Garnett’s numbers both one day being raised to the rafters at TD Garden was completely reasonable. At that point, the franchise already had retired 22 numbers, many of whom were far less of the players Allen and Garnett were. The precedent was there for both guys joining that club, even if their stay in Boston was not all that lengthy.

But when Allen opted to take less money to leave Boston that summer to join the Heat and chase another ring, the relationship was seemingly forever soured. Pierce, Garentt and the rest of the core of that 2008 team publicly shunned Allen, talking openly about the betrayal they felt for years after the signing went down. He immediately became enemy No. 1 for Celtics fans, and the entire region watched with rage as he helped Heat win their consecutive title that following summer. It was a sad end to the magical Big Three Era.

But like all things in life, time heals.

In the last few years, Allen has made amends with both the organization and his former teammates - culminating in Allen being present for Garnett’s jersey retirement in 2022

And along the way, fans have forgiven him as well (I think the winning they’ve done with Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum has helped a lot in this regard).

So while I don’t think Allen’s No. 20 is going up as the 25th retired number in franchise history, I do think the door is open for that to happen.

Check out my video at the top of this piece, where I explain what needs to happen for Allen to join Garnett and Pierce in the rafters.

Tom Carroll is a contributor for Roundtable, with boots-on-the-ground coverage of all things Boston sports. He's a senior digital content producer for WEEI.com, and a native of Lincoln, RI.