Marcus Smart reflects on what it felt like to play his first NBA Finals game in Boston as a member of the Celtics, Smart says he felt ‘goosebumps’ due to all the history surrounding the team.
It's been hard to miss Marcus Smart on the court during during the 2022 NBA playoffs.
That's in part because the Boston Celtics point guard plays with incredible energy on both ends of the floor. But Smart also stands out because of his hair, which has been dyed a bold green throughout the Celtics' playoff run.
Prior to Game 5 of the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors, Smart revealed that his late mother, Camellia, was the inspiration for his new postseason look.
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“My mom, before she passed away, always loved my hair, the things I was doing with it, from the braids to letting it grow out," Smart said in a video the NBA shared Tuesday on social media. "Then I started to dye it, and she really liked that. She always said she wanted to see me in green, but obviously, she passed away, so she never got to see me.
"So when we started this playoff run, I was like, ‘For her, I'm gonna go have it dyed and see what it looks like. Everybody loved it and so now it’s kinda here."
Camellia Smart passed away in September 2018 after a battle with bone marrow cancer. Smart's mother is always with him on the court, however: The 28-year-old has a tattoo to remember his mom and wrote messages such as "Mama's Boy" and "F Cancer" on his shoes during Boston's 2018 playoff run.
Now, Smart has found a new way to honor his mother through his latest hair style, which he got with an assist from local barber Coco Hernandez.
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Smart's mother surely would be proud watching her son compete in his first-ever NBA Finals. Smart and the C's need a victory in Game 6 on Thursday night at TD Garden if they want to force a decisive Game 7 on Sunday.