Boston Celtics guard Malcolm Brogdon didn’t wait for the start of Friday night’s Game 3 to take shots against the Atlanta Hawks.
Well, more specifically, the team’s fanbase.
Brogdon, who was just named this season’s NBA Sixth Man of the Year, grew up in Atlanta. And while being critical of the city’s fanbase, particularly that of the Hawks, Brogdon didn’t exclude himself — revealing despite having grown up in the area, he didn’t care much for the Hawks throughout his upbringing.
“Historically, these fans haven’t been the most dedicated, and that’s myself included coming up,” Brogdon told reporters, per NBC Sports Boston video. “I was always an NBA fan, but not Hawks specifically.”
Granted, there hasn’t been a whole lot for Hawks fans to look forward to. Having last appeared in the NBA Finals back when the organization resided in St. Louis, Atlanta has won a total of five playoff rounds in the previous 11 seasons, including three playoff misses.
The Hawks haven’t been a franchise worth one’s attention since 2014-15, when the team won an Eastern Conference-leading 60 games and shot 38% from 3-point range, which was second to the splash brothers-led Golden State Warriors — just to have it all crushed by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the conference finals.
“I’m tied to the city; I love Atlanta,” Brogdon said. “This is home, this will always be home. I’ll always have some type of house of tie-in here.”
While not favorable for the team down 0-2, Brodgon’s critique does have merit.
At the end of the regular season, the Hawks ranked 18th in attendance, averaging a crowd of 17,555 per night. Meanwhile, the Celtics ranked 9th with 19,156.
If Brogdon and the C’s can snag a road win in Game 3, then the Hawks won’t have any reason to concern themselves with attendance until next season.
