BOSTON – Moments before tipping off their season against the Philadelphia 76ers Tuesday night, the Boston Celtics played a tribute video on the TD Garden jumbotron. Typically, such videos feature a former impact player who is being welcomed back to the city of Boston, but this one was for a man who had yet to even play a regular season game inside the arena.
This was a tribute to Gordon Hayward.
Nearly one year ago to the day, Hayward endured a gruesome leg injury that ended his first season with the Celtics almost as soon as it began. What followed was an arduous road to recovery that required patience, faith, hard work and determination, all of unimaginable proportions.
The Celtics wanted to share all of this with their fans Tuesday night to show just how badly Hayward wanted to get back onto the court to represent the city of Boston.
Among the thousands of eyes that gazed up at the jumbotron in admiration were a pair belonging to Hayward, himself. The 6-foot-8 wing stood by the Celtics bench with his teammates and relived the trials and tribulations that he had just finished going through.
“It brought back a lot of memories,” Hayward reflected late Tuesday night, after the Celtics had defeated the 76ers 105-87. “A lot of dark memories and dark times.”
But tonight marked the start of a new year. And with the flip of the basketball calendar, Hayward’s darkness turned into light.
After the video was over, the 28-year-old veteran took a seat on Boston’s bench and waited for his formal, and long-overdue, introduction to the fans inside TD Garden.
Public address announcer Eddie Palladino started off the Celtics roll call with forward Jayson Tatum, who was followed by guard Jaylen Brown.
And then came the six words Hayward had been waiting to hear over the Garden PA system since he signed with the Celtics more than 15 months ago: “FROM BUTLER, NO. 20, GORDON HAYWARD.”
Hayward bounced off his chair and skipped through a gauntlet of high-fiving teammates, before rising up for a chest bump celebration with Marcus Morris. All the while, the sold-out TD Garden crowd showered him with thunderous applause that lifted his spirit beyond measure.
The hours leading up to this moment hadn’t been easy for Hayward. Throughout the evening, he experienced flashbacks of last season’s traumatizing opener, particularly while he was warming up and when he ran out through the tunnel for the first time.
But once his name was announced and the lights came on for the opening tip, Hayward was overcome only with excitement.
“It was amazing to be out there on the court again for a regular-season game,” he later stated. “My adrenaline was definitely pumping those first three or four minutes. I think everybody’s adrenaline was pumping, because it was sloppy at first, but it was great just to be out there. It was a big step for me.”
The next big step was making his first shot. This occurred on the opening possession of the second quarter, when Hayward dribbled into a jumper on the right elbow to break a 21-21 tie.
Getting that first shot to fall was an obvious pick-me-up, because Hayward’s next trip up the floor ended in similar fashion – this time on a jumper from the left elbow.
Hayward would wind up connecting on four of his 12 attempts from the field, including one from long range. He finished with 10 points, five rebounds and a career-high-tying four steals during 25 minutes of play.
The stats, however, weren’t a concern for Hayward. He was just happy to complete his first game at TD Garden.
“That was a big step for me mentally,” he said. “It was a big confidence-booster just to finish that first game. Being back out on the court – that was a big hurdle.”
The next hurdle will be shaking off all the rust that accumulated during his year away from the game. Hayward is very much looking forward to taking that step, but he also knows that it will take time.
“Part of it is just having patience and realizing that it’s not all going to come at once,” Hayward admitted. “I think as long as I can do things when I’m out there on the court that can help us get wins, then I’ll be happy.”
As for how he felt after Tuesday night, Hayward could not have been much happier.
Right in front of his eyes, he saw his patience, faith, hard work and determination all pay off. The agony of last year’s injury was finally behind him. Now a new year has officially begun.
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