An Interview With Celtics Superfan Josh Gondelman
An Interview With Celtics Superfan Josh Gondelman
Plus: An update on NBA playoff nonsense.
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Things aren’t looking good for my hometown Atlanta Hawks. They lost game 1 to the Boston Celtics and I just feel like Trae Young has one foot out the door…
Since we last spoke, there’s been so much nonsense happening on and off the court. Russell Westbrook almost went at it with a Phoenix Suns fan. Golden State Warriors star, Draymond Green, was ejected after stepping on Sacramento Kings’ Domantas Sabonis' chest. And so many players keep getting injured.
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That’s Just! The! Tip! Of! The! Playoff! Iceberg!
Ahead of game 2 between the Hawks and Celtics, I spoke with Boston native, Josh Gondelman.
Gondelman is a comedian and diehard Celtics fan. He even once ad libbed a line during a high school play to signal that the Celtics won a playoff game. A true thesportsian!
I chatted with Gondelman about what it was like growing up in Boston as a Celtics fan, a break down of how the Celtics’ current roster is shaping up, and more.
Read our conversation below and sound off in the comments as to who you think is going to win game 2 tonight.
I’ll be over here waiting patiently for a Greta Gerwig spotting at the next Sacramento Kings home game…
An Interview With Celtics Superfan Josh Gondelman
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Be sure to follow Josh on Twitter here and Instagram here. You can also see Josh perform stand-up live (!) this summer. You can view all of his upcoming tour dates here. Plus: Be sure to subscribe to his incredible newsletter,
Josh, you're from the Boston area. What was it like growing up as a Celtics fan
When I was young (because I'm old) Larry Bird was at the very tail end of his career and the team was in a pretty lengthy period of doldrums. The fan base was very eager to celebrate any kind of success.
In high school, I had a supporting role (Motel the Tailor) in Fiddler On The Roof on the night of a Celtics playoff game and backstage at intermission I saw that they'd won.
But again because I'm old, the people in the audience hadn't seen the result because smart phones didn't exist yet. So, when the play resumed, I was in a scene where another character asked me if the vest he had ordered was ready and I ad libbed: "The shamrock green one/won???" to let the audience know the result of the game.
Afterwards, I heard scattered reports that people understood what I was trying to communicate. My dad swears that he got it right away.
Do you have a favorite Celtics player from childhood?
I feel like when you're a kid, you form attachments to players for kind of unpredictable reasons. I really liked David Wesley and (hometown hero) Dana Barros in part because neither of them was over six feet tall. That quality was relatable to me, a child.
Did you always watch games growing up?
I was pretty consistent with trying to catch games when I could and I loved listening on the radio—almost as much as watching on tv. I have a lot of appreciation and a little nostalgia for the tv and radio broadcast teams.
I still listen to Cedric Maxwell and Sean Grande through the NBA app if I'm cooking dinner or walking to do stand-up sets in NYC. And Tommy Heinsohn (R.I.P.) to me is the template for a regional tv commentator: Ruthlessly devoted to the home team with a distrust of all referees.
Okay—let's move on to present day Celtics. We've got Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown...Oh, and how can we forget former Atlanta Hawks star, Al Horford! For readers who may not know, walk me through the current State of the Union for the Celtics. I feel like their roster looks pretty good, no?
They have a really great and really deep roster! I also think it's a pretty likable team overall. People across the country reflexively hate Boston teams and while I can't offer a defense of the city's worst fans/jerks, I will say it really lets other cities' assholes off the hook!
This Celtics team is full of young stars (Tatum, Brown), well-respected veterans (Horford, Malcolm Brogdon, Blake Griffin), and scrappy supplementary players (Marcus Smart, Derrick White, Robert Williams III).
And yet, people still resent the Celtics when they could better expend that energy hating the Lakers. LeBron James is truly a genius for getting people so exhausted from being mad at him when he went to Miami that they didn't have any ire left for his move to LA. I tip my cap in grudging respect.
Can we please talk about Blake Griffin. He's basically an NBA player moonlighting as a comedian. I feel like he should just go for the comedy thing! Plus: It looks like he may be leaving the Celtics at the end of this season...As a comedian, what's your read on his comedy chops?
I know a few people who have worked with Blake Griffin on some comedy projects, and from everything I hear, he is legit very funny!
He played Muhammad Ali in History Of The World: Part II on Hulu and made me laugh. I yelled: "Blake Griffin!" when he showed up on screen, and my wife was like...is that someone you know?
Via Twitter, I invited him to do a stand-up set on one of my Boston shows over Thanksgiving weekend, but he either didn't see it or did and ignored it. Either way, no offense was taken, and the offer stands next time I'm back in town!
Who do you think is going to be the standout Celtics star of the playoffs? My money is on Tatum...
For them to really thrive deep into the playoffs, I think they need it to be Tatum! But I'm also rooting for a big playoff run from Derrick White (seen here in an NBA Paint Derrick "Walter" White hoodie). He's a solid offensive player, and he's really fun to watch on defense. He blocks a ton of shots for a guard, which I, a medium-heighted person, enjoy seeing.
Between White, Robert "Time Lord" Williams III, and (reigning DPOY) Marcus Smart, there are a lot of really dynamic, tenacious defenders on the team who aren't stars but who make some really spectacular plays. Am I boring your readers by talking so much about defense?
So Game 2 against my Atlanta Hawks is tonight. Things aren't looking great for the Hawks. How are you feeling about the Celtics chances of winning this series?
Intellectually, I think they have a great chance to wrap this series up pretty quickly. Emotionally, I can never quite reach the levels of confidence that I'd like to with things like this.
I always wish I had the confidence to trash talk proactively, but I only ever feel comfortable doing it after the Celtics win. My friends who are Knicks fans are so inspirational, in that they'll latch on to any victory or momentum and run with it.
The Knicks are a five-seed in this year's playoffs and the fans are like: "BING BONG! NEW YORK CITY IS BACK, BABY! THIS IS OUR YEAR!!!"
Meanwhile the Celtics went to the finals last year and are playing (no offense) a less formidable opponent in the first round and I'm still like, "Let's take this one game at a time. Don't want to get ahead of ourselves."
I sound like a little league coach.
What are your predictions for who will make the finals?
I'm so bad at predictions! I feel like I have to say the Celtics even though, credit where credit's due, Joel Embiid on most nights looks like a dad playing against his son's friends.
And this might just be a lingering basketball trauma from last year, but I think the Warriors have another run in them. So I'll go with: Celtics-Warriors rematch.
Please do not put money on this, readers.
Last question (and it's a pretty pointless one): What are your thoughts on former Celtics star, Kevin Garnett, making a major cameo in Uncut Gems? Do we feel like he has an acting career in him?
Kevin Garnett is responsible for one of my favorite moments in all of sports (shouting: "ANYTHIIIIING IS POSSIBLE!!!!" when the Celtics won the 2008 championship, which still makes me emotional to watch even though they took out the cursing in this abbreviated clip) so he can do whatever he wants.
A KG/Adam Sandler co-starring vehicle is so tailored to my interests from age 10 to present that it felt like I was being spied on. I definitely want more KG movies. I hope Kevin Garnett gets to do his own Space Jam where he trash talks the Monstars so hard that they start crying and go back to space in the middle of the game.
Is there anything else Celtics related that you think my readers should know?
Robert Williams III and Derrick White independently had babies named Hendrix a few of months apart last year, which I think is sweet! Good vibes, I'm telling you!
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