Jared Sullinger glanced up at the energetic crowd and spotted a familiar sight – a fan proudly displaying his #7 Celtics jersey. It was a scene he’d witnessed many times, but this wasn’t 2015, and the venue wasn’t TD Garden. Just a few weeks ago, Sullinger found himself on the court for a Chinese Basketball Association game, adorned in his red Shenzhen Leopards jersey. Despite the change in uniform, the fans still associated him with the iconic Celtic green.
Every sighting of a Sullinger jersey in the stands serves as a reminder that, even though he’s moved on from his Boston playing days, he remains a Celtic at heart.
“The Celtics are a worldwide thing,” remarked Sullinger in an exclusive interview. “It’s not just in Massachusetts or in the United States — it’s been everywhere I’ve played. I played a year in South Korea, then five or six years in China. Celtics Nation is everywhere.”
Given his deep connection to the team – playing 258 games over four seasons – Sullinger still uses ‘we’ and ‘us’ when discussing the organization he considers one of the greatest in sports history.
Confident in the Celtics’ ability to secure Banner #18 in June, Sullinger expressed satisfaction with the team’s offseason moves. However, he couldn’t help but feel a tinge of emotion about the departure of his former teammate Marcus Smart, describing him as “the guy who would bring that spark every single day.”
