BOSTON — There aren’t many cities where a professional football coach can grab headlines at an NBA game between the Eastern Conference’s two best teams.
Boston is one of those cities.
That’s because the local football club happens to employ one of the greatest coaches of all time in Bill Belichick. The New England Patriots’ czar sat courtside at TD Garden on Wednesday for the Boston Celtics’ game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, and it wasn’t long before he found the spotlight.
After getting a warm welcome from the Garden crowd, the defending Super Bowl champion coach got caught in the line of fire when Cavs star LeBron James collided with him in the fourth quarter.
James insisted he didn’t have his sights set on tackling Belichick. Just the opposite, in fact.
“I definitely slowed up because I knew it was him,” James said. “I’m not taking no legend out. I’m not doing that. I need to keep seeing him win. So, that’s pretty cool for me.”
Apparently Belichick forgave LeBron, too. The Patriots coach was seen heading into Cleveland’s locker room after the game and, according to James’ Twitter, had a nice chat with the three-time NBA champion.
Belichick also left his impression on the Celtics’ star player, as All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas was seen shaking Belichick’s hand during a break in the action.
Thomas claimed it was his first time meeting the Patriots coach.
“Oh, I just wanted to meet him,” Thomas said after the game. “I had to shake his hand. … I just wanted to shake his hand and show him my respect.”
The 5-foot-9 point guard dropped a game-high 31 points in Boston’s thrilling 103-99 win, so he likely earned some of Belichick’s respect, too.
Perhaps Bill should go to Celtics games more often.
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
