“I’m simply trying on the image and crying”
“That’s not presupposed to seem like that”
“I’ve been staring on the wall depressed for the previous hour”
This was the scene within the group chat with all my mates on October 17, 2017, the primary recreation of the Boston Celtics’ season and the night time Gordon Hayward broke his leg. It additionally could be the inflection level of Celtics historical past.
Hayward retired on Thursday, 4 years faraway from Boston and 7 from the harm that many followers can’t assist however bear in mind. His Celtics profession was way over his harm, nevertheless it stays essentially the most potent “what if?” of the last decade and — paradoxically — was a basic a part of the Celtics’ 2024 championship. It was the second that Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown’s rises started, and sealed the destiny of the Hayward-Kyrie Irving core that might result in the latter’s departure and the eventual building of the championship roster.
In order we are saying goodbye to Hayward’s profession, I needed to recollect how we felt at that second and resolve what all of it means seven years later. His harm was so tragic and unforgettable exactly as a result of he already meant a lot to the Celtics, and to me, he nonetheless does. And he turned a lot extra to the Celtics than a damaged promise. He requested us to consider in him, and we did.
Maybe extra surprising than the texts themselves was the truth that all my mates have been watching. We’re all Celtics followers, positive, nevertheless it was uncommon that we might all find time for a daily season recreation, even when it was the season opener. However that was the gravity of that season; we had by no means been extra excited.
Gordon Hayward was not becoming a member of the Celtics as a further contributor to an already-contending workforce. He had simply put collectively the most effective season of his profession for the Utah Jazz, was simply coming into his prime and was presupposed to be Boston’s second-best participant behind Irving. He was presupposed to be the answer, and he gave us that promise himself.
Hayward’s resolution to signal with Boston on July 4, 2017, stays one in every of my most cherished Celtics moments. In my younger reminiscence, the Celtics had by no means signed a giant free agent. Years earlier than, I needed to take care of native radio conspiracy theories about LeBron James, however to no avail. In 2016, I had been satisfied by pictures of Kevin Durant strolling and speaking with Tom Brady that he would come to Boston, nevertheless it wasn’t to be. However Hayward had picked us. Somebody had lastly picked us! And it seemed like, for actual this time, the Jap Convention may not simply run by means of Cleveland.
However Hayward because the savior solely lasted 5 minutes. Everybody watching at dwelling knew instantly that his season was over. The Celtics’ subsequent huge three, consisting of Hayward, Kyrie Irving and Al Horford, would by no means get to indicate its tooth. As we speak, it’s unattainable to simulate the sensation of confusion and anger combined with the simple understanding that life wasn’t truthful. It was that unhealthy.
Everybody on the courtroom felt like my mates and I. Gamers seemed away in horror, huddled collectively to regroup and tried something to get better from this second. However even the Cavaliers followers felt like we did. The dream of a metropolis and a workforce had been shattered by a freak accident, and it solely took an prompt.
The one different emotion from that night time I bear in mind was denial-fueled hope. I had put so many eggs on this season’s basket that I refused to consider it was simply over instantly. Jaylen Brown, the then-mostly-unproven ahead who stepped up when Hayward went down, scored 25 factors in 40 minutes, and prompted me to ship this textual content to the identical group chat:
“We now have realized that Brown is a god”
Maybe much more consequential, although I didn’t realize it on the time, was how Hayward’s harm gift-wrapped the Celtics’ beginning Small Ahead place for rookie Jayson Tatum. Having to observe one of many pillars of his workforce go down 5 minutes into his NBA profession will need to have been dizzying, however Tatum took the brand new duty in stride. Seven years later, I wouldn’t change a factor about his profession. However should you requested him in the present day, I guess he’d need these first 5 minutes to have ended in a different way.
Hayward’s Celtics profession was a lot greater than his harm. He was a priceless contributor on two Celtics groups and undoubtedly was a veteran mentor to the 2 younger forwards that simply received Boston a championship. However he was by no means the savior that Celtics followers needed him to be. He little question needed that himself.
Hayward will all the time be a dream deferred for Boston, and we’ll by no means know what historical past would have been like if he hadn’t gone down. I’ll bear in mind his Celtics profession for the harm, positive, but additionally for the promise he gave us and the dedication he confirmed within the face of a physique that refused to cooperate. He might have merely sulked round for his subsequent two seasons and resigned himself to obscurity, however he labored tirelessly to reshape his profession into one thing he and Celtics followers may very well be pleased with.
For that, I’ll proceed to consider in him.
