Despite a rather disappointing season for the Boston Celtics, two players were recognized for their performances on the court.
Both Gordon Hayward and Marcus Smart won National Basketball Players Association Awards on Tuesday afternoon, with Smart taking home the NBPA’s Backbone Award, which is awarded to one player per team and is “dedicated to the players that are the heart and soul of their team,” who bring “100 percent to his squad” according to the NBPA website.
Hayward earned the NBPA Comeback Player of the Year Award after suffering a gruesome leg injury in 2017. The 29-year-old notched 11.5 points, 3.4 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game last season while shooting 46.6 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from beyond the arc.
With the departures of Kyrie Irving, Al Horford and Aron Baynes, the duo of Smart and Hayward will be relied on heavily during the upcoming season.
