The Most Lovable Team In The NBA

By Charlotte Wilder

I can’t remember what exact play it was, but the details don’t matter. What matters is that at some point on Sunday, I watched Jayson Tatum steal the ball from one of the Raptors, fly down the court, and soar to the basket for a beautiful dunk. 

And my heart was full. 

Yes, I’m a Boston fan (thank god, because there aren’t enough of us in sports media), so let’s get this out of the way: I would blindly follow Bill Russell if he walked directly into the ocean. I would strongly consider lying down in traffic for Bill Belichick. My brain is the shape of Fenway Park, and I will not forgive John Henry for trading Mookie Betts for the next 86 years during which Boston won’t win a World Series. 

That said, I’m pretty sure I’d love this Celtics team no matter what. 

I know that to most sports fans outside of title-wealthy New England, the idea of wearing Celtics gear is about as appealing as licking dirt off the sidewalk. And what I’m about to say is completely based on my own conversations with friends and anecdotal Twitter evidence, so take it with a grain of salt. 

But I’ve found that a lot of people who would normally choose licking said dirt over liking a Boston team seem to enjoy this group of guys. 

First of all, the players are remarkable. Jayson Tatum’s infectious spirit and jaw-dropping ability at only 22 years old make it very likely that he’s shaping up to be one of the great players of his generation. He’s improved steadily from when he entered the league, and he was already pretty good, so it seems like the sky’s the limit. 

Tatum is the kind of player who’s so reassuring to watch that even on Sunday, when he didn’t score for much of the first quarter, I was never worried. Of course, he bounced back.  

And then there’s Jaylen Brown, who, to quote coach Brad Stevens, is as impressive off the court as he is on it. 

Brown is only 23, but he’s already guest lectured at Harvard (what were you doing at 23? I was playing beer pong in a crappy apartment in Allston, Mass., pretending I was still in college). He’s also been one of the most vocal supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement and has emerged as a leader in the fight for social justice among NBA players. 

On the older side of the roster, at an ancient — wanna feel old? — 28, there’s Enes Kanter, who gives off "proud parent" vibes from the bench. Kanter has also been vocal when it comes to social justice, especially in speaking out against the government of Turkey, his home country. He’s been detained and had his passport revoked, but hasn’t stopped speaking his mind. 

And I’m sorry, but have you ever seen anything better than Kanter and Brown teaching rookie Tacko Fall how to swim?

Fall was called up from the G League’ Portland Red Claws, where he was beloved by fans. He recently started a tradition of reading books on Instagram Live.

Another relatively recent addition is Kemba Walker, whose smile Doris Burke recently described as incandescent. Hard to argue!

It’s also hard not to smile at this clip from 2019 of of Marcus Smart saying that Walker turned out to be more talkative than Smart expected:

Smart misses threes so predictably that it’s somehow endearing (especially since he makes up for it by playing defense in an age when doing so isn’t trendy). There’s something hopeful about a man who keeps shooting his shot. 

And hope is what this team is all about.

This year's Celtics squad is bigger than the sum of its parts, no matter how impressive each player is. They work so well together that even without an injured Gordon Hayward, the group feels complete. Watching the Celtics right now feels like watching the beginning of a really great story, one where the future is even brighter than the present. 

Do you realize how rare that is in 2020? 

I can’t remember the last time I truly believed something outside of my control could only only get better. 

History has already proved this is possible. A few years ago, when Tatum had just been drafted, Kyrie hadn’t yet left Boston for Brooklyn (relatable), and Kemba and Kanter weren’t on the squad yet, I wrote about how joyful the team was. The headline of the article was "America Would Love This Team If They Weren’t From Boston." 

I took quite a lot of internet flak for it from people in Boston, and I’d like to amend it now, since the team’s delight factor has only increased. The headline should’ve read "America Should Love This Team No Matter What You Think About Boston Sports."

Because in 2020, we need to take whatever joy we can find wherever we can find it.