There hasn’t been a better time to be alive and be a Boston Celtics fan, not in more than a decade at least and Marcus Smart is a big reason for it.
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The Celtics won their first game of the first-round Playoffs against the Brooklyn Nets with a last-second buzzer-beating lay-up by Jayson Tatum on a Marcus Smart assist.
Those same hands that found Tatum at the right spot at the best time also would be the recipient of the Defensive Player of the Year award. Yes, Smart has joined the elite and short-list of guards that have won the DPOY.
The point guard is only the 6th guard to win the ultimate reward for the best defender in the NBA since its inception in 1983. He is also the first guard who is neither an All-Star nor an NBA champ before he achieved this feat.
The man of the hour in Boston sent a thank-you message on Twitter to his mother and teammates and looked pleased to achieve the feat finally at a high time.
And similarly or even happier are the Bostonians.
Celtics fans are on the 7th sky as Marcus Smart does two incredible things within a day
Marcus Osmond Smart becomes the first DPOY winning guard in 26 years, and just second for the Celtics franchise after Kevin Garnett, after his team sort of created the biggest upset of the Playoffs yet, defeating a healthy Nets team in the first game of the Playoffs.
While that’s just a step in one of the biggest 7-stepped mountains, the two things are enough cause to celebrate for the Celtics fans.
Smart faced fierce competition from Mikal Bridges of the Phoenix Suns. But now that they finally have a DPOY in their ranks, preparing for the rest of the games would be much more enthusiastic and fun for this elite defensive team as the Nets get ready for the battle on Wednesday.
