addByline("Marc D'Amico", "Celtics.com", "Marc_DAmico");
LOS ANGELES – Tonight’s Clippers-Celtics game will double as a matchup between mentors and mentees.
The Clippers are known as a veteran squad that is built for the playoffs. The Celtics, meanwhile, are known as an up-and-coming team that is stacked with young and developing talent.
It’s no surprise, then, that deep mentor relationships have been built over the years between Los Angeles’ vets and Boston’s young guns.
Most notable to Boston’s fan base would be the relationship between Avery Bradley and Paul Pierce. Bradley was drafted into the Celtics organization as an 18-year-old kid back in 2010. He has since grown into a man, thanks in part to the presence and influence of Pierce.
Bradley and Pierce played together for three seasons in Boston – the first three seasons of Bradley’s career – and nearly shocked the world in 2012 when they took the Miami Heat to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. They went through everything together, from on-court successes and failures, to personal ups and downs, to entering new phases of their careers.
The two have kept in touch since Pierce was traded to the Nets along with Kevin Garnett and Jason Terry back in 2013. Three seasons later, Bradley understands that tonight may mark his final opportunity to stand between the lines with No. 34.
“It means a lot to me to even be on the court with him,” Bradley said while commenting on the possibility of Pierce retiring after the season. “I’m going to appreciate tonight and hug him after the game and I’m going to miss him. The game is going to miss him, I’m going to miss him, and I know the Boston Celtics are going to miss him.”
Pierce is not the only Clipper with whom Bradley shares a connection. Bradley, along with Isaiah Thomas, is also very close with Clippers guard Jamal Crawford.
The Pacific Northwest may be home to the tightest-knit group of basketball players in the country. Players from the region, particularly the greater Seattle area, band together like brothers from an early age all the way through their pro careers. The bond between these three players is no exception.
Bradley reminisced Monday morning about the first time he interacted with Crawford many years ago.
“We were at the State Fair, and we didn’t have any money and we were just walking around and one of my teammates’ friends noticed Jamal and was like, ‘Hey, that’s Jamal!’ Bradley remembered. “And we asked him for a picture and he asked us if we had any tokens or anything, and we looked at him like, ‘We don’t have any money or anything.’ And he pulled out some money and handed us all some cash for tokens and said, ‘Go play some games.’”
Years later, Crawford and other Seattle natives were driving forces behind the development of Pacific Northwest high school stars like Bradley, Josh Smith and Tony Wroten.
“Those guys were always around us, trying to encourage us, trying to get (us) better,” Bradley said of his elder Seattle ballers. “I told [Crawford] that story (about the State Fair) and he was like, ‘No way, that was you!?’ It’s just a funny story that we have that between us now, and a connection that we’ll always have.”
The relationship between Thomas and Crawford is much, much deeper. As told previously on Celtics.com, Thomas was actually in Crawford’s wedding. The two struck up a deep connection while Thomas was in prep school on the East Coast and it has carried strong through the past decade.
“I was in prep school, I was across the country, I was far away from family and friends, that was my only family I had,” Thomas said. “He was the guy that took me under his wing and every weekend let me take the train to his house. I’d be at the Garden watching Knicks games. It was just… He’s done a lot for me. I can’t even begin to explain.”
That being said, Thomas did take his best stab at trying to explain just how much of an influence Crawford has had on his life.
“He’s meant the world to me,” Thomas stated. “Without guys like him and Jason Terry, I wouldn’t be in the position I’m in right now. He’s a big brother to me. He’s someone I’ve talked to every day for the last 10 years.”
Although he isn’t as tight with Crawford as Thomas is, Bradley chimed in with his take on the impact Crawford has made on Boston’s backcourt and many other young Pacific Northwest players.
“He’s just a really good guy. You ask any young kid, probably, in Seattle who their favorite player is – even around my age – they probably would have said Jamal Crawford growing up,” Bradley commented. “He just gives back to the community. He’s the perfect role model.”
Surely, Bradley and Thomas have crossed paths with the likes of Pierce and Crawford at some point over the past two days in LA. Those interactions were friendly, but when the ball is tossed tonight, friendships will be pushed to the side.
Tonight, the mentees want to secure a season sweep of their mentors.