Three and a half years later, Joe Johnson has returned to play an NBA game. The forward, whom the passage of time seemed to have definitively removed from the league, has found in this wave of casualties an opportunity to win a 10-day contract with the Celtics, with whom he played this morning in the victory against the Cavaliers . In his almost two minutes on the court, he had time to score his first basket of this new stage, and it is curious that he did it with the same team (and against the same team) with which he debuted in the league back in 2001.
“It is impressive to be here 20 years later,” he said when the crash ended. “I still can not believe it. I would not say that I had given up, but I did have little hope. My son is 14 years old and he is the one who has kept me going to the gym. We train together, and I always tell him to keep working and that even when he doesn’t know what his next challenge will be, he has to keep giving everything.
Johnson learned the news through a call from his agent while spending time with his daughter. He told him to get ready to receive a call from the Celtics, and just an hour later the people from Massachusetts contacted him to offer to sign. That same afternoon, the forward was already in Boston, and 24 hours later he was dressed in short: “It was a surprise, but I am a person who always tries to stay in shape, so I felt ready to take the step. Now I am ready for the next thing to happen to me.
As expected, Joe did not have many minutes, but he did receive great shows of love from the public, who began to chant ‘We want Joe!’ as the clash came to an end and the victory of their own seemed clear. Udoka claimed to have heard the screams, but acknowledged that his intention was to give him minutes (both him and all the newcomers) in the final bars of the crash.
“It made me surreal to hear the stands chant my name, and to have been able to win the game and be effective when I entered is definitely fun. At my age, what I want is to enjoy the moment and experience this process to the fullest. That’s what I’m trying to do now, and so far it’s being fun, “concluded Johnson.
(Portrait photo: Tim Nwachukwu / Getty Images)
