BOSTON — Jameer Nelson and Avery Bradley will wear the same Celtics uniform beginning this weekend, but it wasn’t so long ago that the 11-year NBA veteran was the closest thing to a rival Bradley had.
Celtics fans might remember the infamous “don’t pick me up” game from back in 2012, when Bradley made it his personal mission to pester Nelson, then with the Orlando Magic, from tipoff to final horn.
Nelson finished with more turnovers (five) than assists (three), the Magic failed to break the 60-point barrier in a 87-56 loss, and Bradley made headlines after the game by claiming Nelson begged him to back off.
Now the two guards are teammates, with Nelson coming from the Dallas Mavericks as part of the Rajon Rondo trade, and Nelson said it’ll be nice to be the beneficiary of Bradley’s tenacious defense rather than the victim of it.
“Avery Bradley is a great guy,” Nelson said Friday night at a news conference to introduce him and fellow Celtics newcomers Brandan Wright and Jae Crowder. “He’s an ultimate competitor; always respect him and his game. We’ve had some battles throughout the years. Me being in Orlando and him being here, and when he was really young, he really pressured me. I’m looking forward to getting out there with him and fighting with him and not against him.”
Nelson’s relationship with the Celtics extends beyond his quarrels with Bradley, though. As a member of the Magic for the first decade of his career, the 32-year-old witnessed TD Garden at its most electric during the Orlando-Boston playoff matchups in 2009 and 2010.
“I’ve always loved the fans (in Boston),” Nelson said. “The fans give you great energy. They basically cheer for their team, they get loud. You have some brutal fans every now and then, but that’s the love they have for their team. You have to respect that, so just in terms of the games that I’ve had, it’s feeding off the crowd, and every time you come into this building, it’s a big game and you feel that atmosphere that’s in the building. You definitely want to step your game up and take on all the challenges.”
Some other nuggets from the ex-Mavericks’ introductory presser:
—Â Wright isn’t worried about having to learn a new system mid-season.
“Over in Dallas, we had an NFL playbook, so we’ll be ready to crack down on the scheme, defensively and offensively,” he said. “I don’t think it will be too much for us to handle, we’ll be able to learn on the fly. We’ve been playing for a while; Jae is the youngest, but he’s been in this thing for three years. We’ll be ready.”
— Boston’s color scheme might take some getting used to for Nelson.
“It’s a little weird,” he said. “I’ve never worn green in any level of basketball, but I think it compliments my skin tone.”
— Crowder’s alma mater, Marquette, defeated Butler in the final collegiate game Stevens coached — a fact the forward was quick to inform his new coach of Friday.
“You know he controls the playing time, right?” Nelson quipped.
Thumbnail photo via David Butler II/USA TODAY Sports Images
