Most Celtics have already made their way back to Boston ahead of the start of training camp last week, but three of the team's biggest names were featured Thursday night as the Celtics and Nike unveiled the latest edition of the team's uniforms for the upcoming season. Jayson Tatum, Gordon Hayward, and Kyrie Irving were all on-hand at the event to help promote the new branding as well as take questions from the assembled media about their summers and the start of next season. Here are a few of the notable takeaways from those Q-and-As.
1. Boston fans have already made a good impression on Kyrie Irving: The All-Star point guard ran into a bit of car trouble this week on his way to the team's practice facility in Waltham, when his truck stalled out. Irving eventually got a Celtics staffer to pick him so he could get to his meeting with Brad Stevens but the 25-year-old was struck by how many people bystanders tried to help him out.
"It was raining and I was wearing shorts and a T-shirt, but the people out there that kept stopping, they were awesome," Irving told reporters. "I had about four people get out of their cars and ask me if I needed a lift somewhere. Just to have that type of support anywhere, you know, at any given moment. They had no idea who I was, which makes it even sweeter. Being part of the Boston culture, man, I'm just enthused. And now I can't wait to get started."
As for the car trouble itself, it appears to have been a gas issue.
"I had no idea that my engine got changed," Irving explained. "So I put regular gas in the Jeep and it stalled out. It stalled out right on the corner of Beaver and Forest, right in front of Bentley University. And I'm standing there and our equipment guy J.J. came and picked me up. So I was like 45 minutes late to a meeting with Brad. That shows you how much time I was out there for."
Hopefully, Irving gets those car issues taken care of before winter hits.
2. The new Celtics realize how much time it's going to take the team to build chemistry this year: While there has been plenty of pickup basketball and training going on in Waltham over the past few weeks, Irving is under no illusions how much of a process it's going to be to get this group on the same page and in rhythm with 10 new faces in camp.
"Man, it takes a long time," Irving said of building chemistry. "And the ups and downs will really define how we are as a group, our identity, and how we respond will be the most important part. That's the only thing that I want to echo here: you don't want to get too high and too low, I know that's a cliche saying but literally that we want to stay even-keel throughout all of this. Regardless of whatever is happening outside, the only thing that matters is taking care of each other in the locker room."
3. Irving loves what he's seeing out of Tatum already: It's no surprise there has been a good deal of bonding going on already among the Duke alums, since they were close even before becoming teammates. Still, Irving wasn't shy about heaping praise on the No. 3 overall pick during the appearance.
"[Jayson]'s like my big little brother, or little big brother," Irving declared. "That dude is so talented and he has a ceiling that sometimes you can't even really see it because you won't be able to see it all the time because the amount of the respect that he has to earn as a rookie. But his talent is through the roof. He works extremely hard. And, of course, having the luxury of going to Duke and understanding what it's like to be on a great team and play with good players, and how much you have to sacrifice in order for us to be a great team, so the individual goals and the individual talent, we've gotta bring the best out of him and he's gotta bring the best out of us. So once he figures that out, the sky is the limit for that kid. I'm serious when I tell you guys that that dude is a bad dude. He's a bad dude."
It's no secret that moving on from a guy like Jae Crowder has opened the door for potentially big minutes right away for Tatum during his rookie season. With this kind of rave review from Irving, as well as the positive words from Brad Stevens on his play after summer league, we could be seeing more than expected from the hybrid forward this year.
4. You can also get a closer glimpse at the new jerseys in this clip below or by heading here
A fresh spin on a classic style & a statement in black.
Learn more about the new #CELTICSxNIKE threads: https://t.co/VweMIAEzgq pic.twitter.com/E6JU4zqNj8
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) September 21, 2017
