The NBA offseason hasn’t really begun until an Instagram follow makes news.
This year, it was only a matter of hours before we witnessed our first social media “controversy.” The morning after the Golden State Warriors wrapped up their NBA Finals victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas decided to add someone on Instagram.
OK, not just any “someone” — Utah Jazz star and impending free agent Gordon Hayward.
A few amateur social media detectives also claimed that Thomas’ wife followed Hayward’s wife on Instagram.
A NESN.com investigation into the matter found that Thomas since has unfollowed Hayward, but Thomas’ wife, Kayla Wallace, indeed was following Hayward’s wife on Instagram as of Tuesday morning.
Now that we got to the bottom of that, it’s worth asking the question: Does any of this have any significance whatsoever?
You could argue it doesn’t: NBA players (and their significant others) can follow whoever they want on social media. But Hayward is expected to be the Celtics’ top target in free agency this summer, and Thomas has been known to make pitches to players on social media, so it’s pretty hard to ignore the coincidence of the two (briefly) connecting on Instagram on the first day of the offseason.
Oh, and there’s also that whole fiasco of Hayward’s young daughter wearing a “Go Green” shirt.
We know better than to draw conclusions from social media scuttlebutt, but that didn’t stop Celtics fans from getting fired up by Tuesday’s developments.
It’s going to be a fun offseason, folks.
Thumbnail photo via Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports Images
