One of sports’ rarest occurrences took place Saturday at the Wells Fargo Center: a gesture of goodwill between Boston and Philadelphia.
Shortly after putting up 18 points, 13 rebounds and six assists in the Celtics‘ 110–107 win over the 76ers in a possible Eastern Conference Finals preview, Boston forward Jayson Tatum gifted his familiar No. 0 jersey to Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith.
The four-time All-Star sought out the 2020 Heisman Trophy winner courtside postgame, hugged him and signed the jersey for a beaming Smith.
The gift shed light on Smith’s unusual basketball fandom.
As NBC Sports Boston pointed out, Smith—despite growing up in rural Louisiana and plying his trade professionally in the City of Brotherly Love—is an avowed Celtics fan.
He even went as far as to tweet his support for Boston during last year’s NBA Finals, when most Philadelphia fans sided with the Warriors over its traditional Atlantic Division rivals.
Whether Smith and Tatum's actions will lead to a rapprochement between two of the most volatile fanbases in North America remains to be seen.
