Being close friends with someone often comes with a lot of sharing. For Boston Celtics teammates Kyrie Irving and Terry Rozier, that mantra holds true.
As the Celtics were preparing for the postseason, Irving was still recovering from knee surgery. Throughout his time on the sidelines, Irving began to mentor Rozier, preparing him for the challenge ahead.
As a kind gesture, Irving actually opened his closet to Rozier, allowing him to use as many pairs of his signature shoes as needed. Fortunately, their feet are the same size.
Via Howard Beck of Bleacher Report:
Sidelined by knee surgery, Irving was channeling all his energy into preparing Rozier, his understudy, for the postseason. As it happens, their feet are the same size. So part of that preparation began in the closet, which was filled with every version of Irving's signature shoe, from the Kyrie 1 through the Kyrie 4, dozens of them, in every colorway.
“That was special,” Rozier says. “He didn't even go in there with me. He was like, ‘Yo, take as many pairs of shoes as you need.'”
Rozier grabbed 10 pairs, enough to carry him through three playoff rounds, all the way through Game 7 of the conference finals, in which the Celtics — sans Irving and Hayward — fell to LeBron's Cavaliers.
With Irving's kicks strapped to his feet, Rozier posted the best playoff numbers of his career, averaging 16.5 points on 40.6 percent shooting from the field (34.7 percent from beyond the arc), 5.7 assists, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.3 steals in 19 games.
“It's all genuine at the end,” Rozier tells Bleacher Report. “I know he cares for me, and I care for him.”
Irving is back and in Boston for the long haul, but the Celtics are also trying to lock in Rozier before the Oct. 15 extension deadline.
Follow Us
Subscribe