Milan

Marc D'Amico

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addPhoto("https://i.cdn.turner.com/drp/nba/celtics/sites/default/files/boarding-plane-300x350.jpg","The Celtics board their flight to Milan.","Marc D'Amico/Celtics.com","boarding-div");
addPhoto("https://i.cdn.turner.com/drp/nba/celtics/sites/default/files/olynyk-clini-300x350.jpg","Kelly Olynyk comes together with kids at a Special Olympics clinic in Milan.","Marc D'Amico/Celtics.com","olynykclinicmilan-div");
addPhoto("https://i.cdn.turner.com/drp/nba/celtics/sites/default/files/turner-jacket-300x350.jpg","Evan Turner trades team jackets with an Olimpio Milano Jr. team player.","Marc D'Amico/Celtics.com","turnerjacket-div");

MILAN, Italy – Two countries, 3,800 miles on a flight, multiple bus rides, a practice, and a community event.

What a crazy 24-plus hours for the Boston Celtics.

It all started just ahead of noon Friday afternoon in Waltham, Mass., when the team gathered for practice at its facility.  The following 24 hours are laid out below in our time stamped diary.

Boston’s players arrive at the practice facility with all of their luggage for their trek to Milan and Madrid.

The C’s make their way onto the practice court to meet with the media.  Media lasted approximately 30 minutes.

Brad Stevens pushes his players through a practice session that lasts about an hour and a half.  The practice was the final session on US soil for the C’s until at least Oct. 11.

Players and coaches depart Waltham for Boston Logan International Airport, where they will board a non-stop flight to Milan, Italy.

9:12 p.m. – Boston Logan International Airport

Players and coaches arrive at Boston Logan, joining a myriad of other staff members going on the trip, including the Celtics.com crew, game operations and NBA personnel.

10:18 p.m. – Boston Logan International Airport

The team charter takes off for Milan, with an approximate flight time of seven hours, 15 minutes.

Boston’s flight begins to experience substantial turbulence.  Most of the travelers who had attempted to catch some shut-eye were kept awake until at least 1:30 as the flight crew navigated the plane through some rough weather.

11:23 a.m. local (5:23 a.m. EST) – Milan-Malpensa Airport

The C’s touch down in Milan, where a trio of chartered buses await the large group to shuttle them over to their hotel.

The team arrives at its hotel and is greeted by NBA personnel.  Each member of the party grabs his or her room key and then is ushered into a private ballroom.

An NBA security team debriefs the Celtics party on everything it needs to know about Milan and its security details.  The NBA has sent a security team to Milan to escort the team anywhere it goes for precautionary measures.

A group headlined by Kelly Olynyk, Evan Turner, Terry Rozier, Jordan Mickey, Perry Jones and four members of the coaching staff board a chartered bus to head to a Jr. Special Olympics camp.

4:58 p.m. local – Olimpia Milano Practice Facility

The team bus arrives at the Olimpia Milano practice facility.  A throng of cameras awaits the players and coaches as they disembark the bus, and a loud road of cheers greets the group once they enter the gym.

5:05 p.m. local - Olimpia Milano Practice Facility

Kelly Olynyk grabs the microphone and, through an interpreter, speaks to the 40 athletes about how excited he, his teammates and coaches are to be in town and to teach them a thing or two about the game of basketball.

5:12 p.m. local - Olimpia Milano Practice Facility

The 40 athletes, along with the Celtics players and coaches, split into four groups.  Olynyk’s group goes through layup drills, Rozier and Jones’ group goes through dribbling drills, Turner’s group goes through shooting drills, and Mickey’s group goes through passing drills.  The stations rotate every 15 minutes so that each Special Olympics athlete is able to interact with each player and coach.

6:07 p.m. local - Olimpia Milano Practice Facility

The Jr. Special Olympics clinic comes to a close and the entire group takes a photo together before the Celtics group exits the arena to board its bus.

6:10 p.m. local - Olimpia Milano Practice Facility

Evan Turner interacts with members of the Olimpia Milano Jr. team who had been standing along the baseline toward the end of the clinic.  Turner and one of the young players exchange their team jackets, leaving the Milano player in disbelief.  After Turner exited the building, the young player, estimated to be about 17-20 years old, acted as if he just received a gift from his hero.

6:12 p.m. local - Olimpia Milano Practice Facility

The Celtics team bus begins its trek back to the team hotel.

Boston’s players, coaches and staff members arrive back at their hotel, where they will have the remainder of the night to themselves.  However, all of the Celtics players were scheduled to head out to a private dinner later in the night.

The C's will convene Sunday morning for their first practice overseas.  They are scheduled to depart the hotel around 10:30 a.m. for practice.

Milan

Diary: From Boston to Milan, and Everything Between