This is just comical. Hey rook, Kevin Garnett will bother to learn your name when you prove it’s worth his time.
It’s almost a running joke, around the Celtics facilities Garnett does not bother to call Boston’s crop of rookies by their names. Hasn’t in the past, he’s not going to start now.
Five Celtics rookies shared with CSNNE.com, first names are a rarity with the veteran leader:
Fab Melo: “The Youngin. [He calls] everybody Youngin. Oh, and Melo. He calls me by my last name . . . He never calls me Fab. I don’t really care about that stuff. In Brazil, we don’t care. We call first name, last name, it doesn’t really matter. I don’t mind.”
Dionte Christmas: “He called me Temple (Christmas’ alma mater, Temple University). It was cool, it was alright. I respect it.”
Jared Sullinger: “Youngin.”
Jamar Smith: “He calls me something different every day – Young Fella, Youngin, ‘A.’ [He called me ‘A’ because] he thinks so fast, he’s always talking. He calls everybody all kind of names. He hasn’t called me by my first name yet. He knows my name. When we’re talking, when we’re in the locker room, he’ll be like, ‘Smith!’ But for the most part on the court, Youngin and Young Fella.”
Kris Joseph: “Rook, Young Fella, Youngin, three names. I’m assuming he knows my name, but those are the three names he does call me.”
SOURCES: Kurt Helin at PBT & Jessica Camerato of CSNNE
