We are the dog days of the offseason, but the Celtics have stayed pretty busy over the past week. Let's get caught up on some of the more noteworthy developments over the past week.
Irving honored at ceremony by Standing Rock Sioux tribe
The Celtics point guard traveled to North Dakota on Thursday with his sister Asia and was honored in a ceremony by the Standing Rock Sioux tribe. Irving's late mother was half Sioux, a development that was unknown to the public until an interview in December 2016. Irving's grandmother was a native of the tribe and his mother was adopted out of the tribe as a child.
Irving was given the name "Little Mountain" in the ceremony by the Standing Rock Sioux in a hall filled with over a thousand tribe members in a scene described by Brian Windhorst of ESPN.
"Wearing a traditional shirt with ribbons, Irving stood on a buffalo skin and was prayed over by a tribe elder, Vernon Iron Horse. As a drum group played and chanted, Irving was wrapped in a blanket, had an eagle feather tied into his hair along with a medicine ball made of porcupine quills, and had a beaded medallion placed over his head as his name was revealed to him."
The naming ceremony is complete.
Kyrie Irving was given the name “Little Mountain.” His sister, Asia, was given the name, “Buffalo Woman.” pic.twitter.com/iA5debvYiV
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) August 23, 2018
- Larry Bird and Bill Russell will be presenters at the Hall of Fame ceremony in Springfield in September. Bird will induct ex-Celtic Dino Radja into the Hall of Fame while Russell will help induct executive Bill Welts.
- Robert Williams got votes for most athletic and biggest steal at his draft spot in the annual NBA rookie survey that was released this week.
- The C's officially signed P.J. Dozier to a two-way contract this week. Their roster stands at 17 for the moment heading into training camp.