Tristan Thompson is inching closer to his debut for the Boston Celtics. It’s possible it could come next Friday when the Celtics and Brooklyn Net reunite in that empty TD Garden for a game that actually counts.
It’s a game Thompson had in mind when he took the practice floor for the first time on Saturday.
“My role for this team is being a veteran leader, having success and taking stuff that I learned from some of the greats that I’ve played with to implement that with this team. I’m a competitor,” He said Saturday afternoon. “Whether it was my brother, our cousins, my teammates, when we step between those four lines, we want to compete at a high level, especially after yesterday’s game. I know people always say it’s preseason but that same team we play against them on Christmas. So I was pissed off with how we came out.”
Thompson playfully begrudges the veteran part of the leadership role, saying people are “making me feel old at 29,” but he embraces what it means to be a part of the Celtics organization.
“I’ve always known this team is about a culture and about a winning mentality and that’s what the city of Boston is about,” he said. “This is a city of winners, whether it’s a football, baseball, basketball, this is a town that wants champions.”
Knowing that the Cleveland Cavaliers were in a different spot, and understanding that while 29 is still young, the body clock ticks louder in the NBA, Thompson had to make a decision.
“For me, and the point of career I was in, I wanted to get back onto that stage and play for something bigger than just 82 games,” he said. “The Celtics where they’ve been the last couple years and where they’re trying to get to, I felt like I could be a great contributor to that. And, you know, I’m just happy to be here.”
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