Why Celtics’ Marcus Smart Dyed His Hair Green For NBA Playoffs

No matter the style, there’s been a green tint to the hair of Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart throughout the majority of the NBA playoffs.

And for Smart, there’s a special reason why he dyed his hair green.

Smart went through with the hair change not because it happens to be the primary color of the Celtics, but to honor his late mother, Camellia, who died after a battle with cancer in September of 2018.

“My mom, before she passed away, always loved my hair,” Smart said, per video released by the NBA. “The things I was doing with it from the braids to letting it grow out, and I started to dye it and she really liked that. She always said she wanted to see me in green, but obviously she passed away, so she never got to see me.

“So, when we started this playoff run I was like, ‘You know what for her, I’m going to go ahead and dye it and see what it looks like.’ And everybody loved it, so now it’s kind of here.”

Smart changed up his hair look prior to Boston’s Eastern Conference semifinals series against the Milwaukee Bucks, and has kept it throughout the Celtics playoff run to the NBA Finals, giving Smart the biggest stage the league has to offer to commemorate his mother.

Smart will look to have his green hair for not one, but two more games as the Celtics host the Warriors in Game 6 of the finals on Thursday. Tipoff from TD Garden is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET.