Celtics Fans Might Love Xavier Tillman For Recent Exchange With Kyrie Irving

The Boston Celtics didn’t necessarily make a particularly earth-shattering deal before the NBA trade deadline, but they did bring in role player Xavier Tillman from the Memphis Grizzlies.

Tillman may not bring the same hype that the trades for Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday did, but Celtics fans may just be enamored with the versatile bench player simply because of his recent back-and-forth trash-talking sparring session with Kyrie Irving.

In early January, Tillman and Irving tangled in the paint at American Airlines Center. Tillman was called for a foul as he swatted the ball away when Irving tried to release the fadeaway jumper.

The pleasantries exchanged on the court were posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, capturing the sights and sounds of the exchange.

“Get that (expletive) out of here,” Tillman exclaimed as he blocked Irving’s shot.

“You proud of that (expletive)?” Irving questioned Tillman. “You can’t guard me.”

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The exchange didn’t stop after the whistle was blown. Tillman and Irving continued to trash-talk before the latter attempted his two free throws.

Tillman said he was “locked in” as he encouraged Irving to take his shots.

“Hey, we’re good. I’m in my 13th year, bro. You better get it together,” Irving clapped back. “Bro is talking crazy like this ain’t the (expletive) I do. Come on, now. You can’t guard me, stop it. I can talk and hoop, bro. I’m built for this (expletive).”

Not backing down, Tillman added: “Let’s do it.”

Irving may have got the last word, but the Grizzlies beat the Mavs by 17, with Tillman dropping 14 points and collecting 11 rebounds in 28 minutes.