"Is something wrong?" others asked Pierce.
"If 'Ubuntu' means this, then everything is wrong!" Pierce began to explain the origin of "Ubuntu" to everyone.
When the Celtics formed The Big Three, Rivers worried that the three stars might not work well together. During an overseas team-building trip, he heard the word "Ubuntu." Rivers had an epiphany and told the players that the word meant "together" in the local language.
From that time on, it became the Celtics' slogan. Wherever they went, you could always see Garnett standing in the middle chanting "one, two, three," while the others shouted "Ubuntu" in unison.
As Rajon Rondo grew, his sharp personality could no longer be concealed. To tame the "stubborn mule," Rivers reinterpreted "Ubuntu." Another layer of meaning for "together" was "I am great because of others."
Rivers hoped this would help Rondo understand that greatness lay not in himself but in the team he played for and the teammates around him.
