Marcus Smart is undoubtedly feeling a mixture of emotions after hearing of the recent success that the Boston Celtics have experienced. To the few fans who might not be aware, the Celtics managed to finally win the 2024 NBA championship after defeating Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks.
The Celtics managed to get over the hump and find success after acquiring Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis. While the majority of their fanbase is certainly happy that the team managed to break their 16-year-long championship drought, there are a few who will know what Boston gave up on in order to make their accomplishment possible.
Marcus Smart admits to feeling bittersweet over the Boston Celtics’ recent success
The Boston Celtics core initially had Marcus Smart paired up with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Smart began his NBA career with the Celtics and was with the team for 9 years before they made the decision to trade him to the Memphis Grizzlies.
Spending almost a decade with a team and leaving only to find out that they won a coveted NBA championship the very next season would bring about emotions in a player that fans will struggle to understand. Marcus revealed that he was very happy for his former team but could not avoid feeling a sense of bittersweetness over the fact that they won after he left the team.
Marcus Smart says Celtics winning the NBA Finals was “bittersweet” but he’s “so proud of them” 💚
(via @TidalLeague / Run Your Race Pod) pic.twitter.com/GpuW4mEn47
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 25, 2024
Unfortunately for Smart, that is simply the world of basketball and the business side of it. While he had contributed a lot to the team over the years, one should wonder if the team would have been able to win the 2024 NBA championship if he was still a part of their roster.
Jrue Holiday was undoubtedly the third-best player for the Boston Celtics during their championship run
Most fans will agree that adding Jrue Holiday to their roster was a big game-changer for the Boston Celtics. Holiday stepped up to the task and was fearless in the NBA Finals and throughout the playoffs. Therefore, one could claim that he was the third-best player on the Celtics this season, behind Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.
Since Holiday is mostly known for his defensive abilities, a domain that Marcus Smart also excelled in during his time with the Celtics, some fans may wonder if Boston would have been able to win it all in a world where Smart was still on their roster.
While there is no way of knowing, the fact remains that the Celtics had a relatively easy path to the championship given that the majority of their opponents dealt with injuries. In any case, many Celtics fans hope that Marcus Smart will be able to win an NBA championship before his career comes to an end.