A few hours before the Boston Celtics stunned the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals Sunday night, a former Celtic celebrated a monumental victory of his own.
And boy, what a celebration it was.
After Fenerbahce Istanbul defeated Olympiacos Piraeus to win its first-ever Euroleague championship, forward Luigi Datome commemorated the moment by allowing teammate Pero Antic (formerly of the Atlanta Hawks) to give him an on-court haircut.
Note the scream of “Ahhh, no!” from an unseen observer as Datome’s signature man bun meets its demise.
Datome’s distictive hairstyle was part of what made him a cult hero in Boston during the 2014-15 NBA season. Acquired from the Detroit Pistons at the trade deadline, he quickly became a Celtics fan favorite, taking the court to chants of “Gigi, Gigi” during the team’s unexpected run to the 2015 playoffs.
Wearing a number (70) seldom seen on a basketball court, Datome scored in double figures in five of the 22 games he played for the Celtics, including a 22-point effort in the 2014-15 regular-season finale.
And, if you can believe it, he had the ball in his hands with Boston down six in the final minute of its first-round series against the Cavs. His 3-pointer missed the mark, however, and Cleveland went on to win 101-93 to sweep the upstart C’s out of the playoffs.
https://youtu.be/Kum3Uw_NWME?t=3m20s
Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge made a point Sunday to congratulate Datome on his Euroleague title.
Congratulations @GigiDatome!! Maybe now @KellyOlynyk can take the leap😂 https://t.co/HgPZ50baUJ
— Danny Ainge (@danielrainge) May 21, 2017
Datome scored 11 points and grabbed six rebounds in Fenerbahce’s 80-64 victory, with 10 of those points coming in the second half.
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports ImagesÂ
