Ed Lacerte (left) won his 3rd Joe O’Toole NBA Athletic Trainer of the Year award in 2015. (Photo courtesy of the Lacerte family.)
The Boston Celtics will wear special shooting shirts on Dec. 15 and hold a blood stem cell donor registry drive to honor and support Ed Lacerte, the longest-tenured athletic trainer in team history, who was recently diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia.
The shirts will raise awareness about joining the NMDP blood stem cell donor registry and finding a match for Lacerte. Following chemotherapy, doctors have recommended a blood stem cell transplant as his best treatment option. The shirts will feature the tagline “20 seconds could save a life” on the front, which is how long it takes to complete the cheek swab required to register as a blood stem cell donor, and “Lacerte” on the back, a nod to his uniform while he served as the Celtics trainer from 1987-2017.
Additionally, the Celtics are encouraging fans in attendance who are ages 18-35 to join the blood stem cell registry by getting their cheeks swabbed. The cheek swabbing stations (located on Level 4 behind Sections 18 and 19) will also be available for ticketed fans during games on Dec. 19 and 22.
Lacerte has left an undeniable mark on the sport over his 30+ year career. On top of his historic run with Boston and decades with U.S. Olympic sports, he was the athletic trainer for the USA Basketball “Dream Team” in 1992, Treasurer of the National Basketball Athletic Trainers Association (NBATA) from 1988-2018, and a three-time Joe O’Toole NBA Athletic Trainer of the Year (1993, 2012 and 2015). He was the athletic trainer for three NBA All-Star Games (1998, 2000 and 2015) and, in July 2019, he became the first recipient of the Ed Lacerte Service Award for his contributions and support to the NBATA. His career spanned multiple eras, from Larry Bird to Paul Pierce to Jaylen Brown.
Dr. Ed Lacerte needs our help 💚
The former Head Athletic Trainer for the Celtics and @usabasketball was diagnosed with Leukemia, and his doctors have recommended a blood stem cell transplant.
Join the @nmdp_org's national bone marrow registry to help: https://t.co/x3jXK2X2eh pic.twitter.com/BWVCfKi8Mu
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) December 15, 2025
How You Can Help
Every 3-4 minutes, someone in the U.S. is diagnosed with blood cancer. Your healthy blood stem cells could be the best hope for a cure, as blood stem cell transplants can cure or treat more than 75 blood cancers and diseases.
Matching donors and patients is a genetic puzzle that’s easier to solve when there’s a diverse registry of blood stem cell donors across ethnicities. Typically, the best donor for a patient shares their ethnic background. However, only 8% of registry members are Black/African-American, making it harder for patients with diverse ethnic backgrounds to find a match. In addition, according to NMDP, research shows blood stem cells from younger donors give patients their best chance at transplant success and long-term survival.
To support Lacerte and patients like him, learn how to join the blood stem cell donor registry with a simple cheek swab at go.nmdp.org/NBA.
