Don’t laugh: Marcus Smart and Joe Harris are kindred spirits.
The Boston Celtics guard and Brooklyn Nets guard have bonded so closely this summer as teammates on the U.S. men’s national basketball team, they’ve become the center of the funniest inside joke the group shares. On the surface, they’re an odd couple, as Smart and Harris come from different backgrounds, play for rival NBA Atlantic Division teams and have different personalities. Harris and Smart explained to The Athletic’s Joe Vardon on Friday how the Smart-Harris “alter-ego” joke was born and why it has assumed a life of its own.
“Joe, he’s a really funny guy in general,” Smart said. “So, like I always tell everybody here, you’ve got anything to say about Joe, you say it to me because I’m his alter ego. He’s always telling me I’m his alter ego. The things he won’t do or say, I do it for him. It’s kind of funny.”
So Smart seemingly has become Harris’ body double, as far as their USA Basketball teammates are concerned?
“We’ve all played on it on texts, and now it’s ‘all business inquiries, see Marcus. Anything you’ve got going on, see Marcus,'” Harris said.
We’ll have to trust Team USA players when they say it’s funny. Maybe you have to be there with them, in China, to see why it works.
