“Didn’t Skip Any Steps”: Marcus Smart Reveals Bittersweet Emotions Following Celtics’ Championship

For any team, winning an NBA title is an evolutionary process. Similarly, the Boston Celtics were working on their next trophy for the last few years and 2024 turned out to be their season. Unfortunately, Marcus Smart, who was a part of that franchise since 2014, ended up leaving Boston a year before they lived their dreams. And surely, it affected him.

During a recent appearance on Run Your Race podcast, the 30-year-old talked about the bittersweet emotions after he saw his ex-teammates lift the trophy. He was gracious in giving Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown the flowers they deserve.

He said that the two have been carrying this franchise on their backs for a while now and it was time that their efforts translated into something meaningful. Smart expressed, “Shout out to Jaylen [Brown], Jayson [Tatum] and the Boston Celtics. Congratulations on the championship.”

Smart added that JT and JB are enjoying the fruits of their labor and, as someone who has seen them put the work in, he is proud of them. He said,

“They built that. They went through the mud. They didn’t skip any steps. I was there with them for nine years of my career.”

"Shout out to Jaylen [Brown], Jayson [Tatum] and the Boston Celtics. Congratulations on the championship… I know everybody is expecting me to be salty and sh*t… I was screaming for those guys when they won it."

– Marcus Smart

(via "Run Your Race", @TidalLeague) pic.twitter.com/fC38mP8kqO

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) July 4, 2024

However, it would be a missed opportunity if he wasn’t asked how he feels knowing that if he stayed there for another season, he would also be an NBA champion now.

The Grizzlies star said that people expect it out of him to be salty about Boston’s championship win. However, he feels extremely proud of his former teammates and the franchise because he understands what it took to reach where they are. He said,

“It’s definitely a bittersweet feeling…but like I said, I was in the trenches with them. To…not finish what you started with those guys is definitely tough, but…I was screaming for those guys when they won it.”

Clearly, Smart is happy about the fact that the franchise that he was with for nine years added another trophy to their cabinet. His graciousness in accepting that, speaks not only to the respect he has for Tatum and Brown but also shows the kind of man Smart is.