The crowd at TD Garden collectively rose to its feet not once, but twice, during Gibson’s introduction performance, which featured nine points, two assists and a rebound during a single nine-minute, fourth-quarter stint. The explosive individual effort helped Boston create enough separation to pull away for a 111-104 win, all while providing the newcomer with instant cult-hero status.
The funny thing is, most Celtics fans had probably never heard of Jonathan Gibson before Friday, and understandably so.
The 30-year-old point guard had experienced just one quick NBA stint over the course of his professional career, and spent the past season playing in China before the Cs signed him to their roster Friday morning for the remainder of the campaign.
The move came as a complete surprise to the free-agent guard, who was on the other side of the country in Las Vegas Thursday night when he received word of Boston’s offer.
“My agent called me and asked, ‘Do you want to go play for the Celtics the rest of the season?’” Gibson recounted Friday night. “I said, ‘Sure!’ and [director of player personnel] Austin [Ainge] called me and confirmed it. I was definitely excited. I called my family and let everybody know. Then I was on my way out here in the next couple of hours.”
Once Gibson arrived in Boston, he had very little time to prepare.
The Celtics, who had just received news that Kyrie Irving would have to undergo season-ending knee surgery, expected immediate minutes out of Gibson. So, the coaches gave him a quick introduction to their system before throwing him into the fire. And he wasn’t fazed one bit.
“We had a walkthrough at around 11am, and probably about 30-40 minutes after that we were going over film with the coaches,” said Gibson. “I felt confident. It was pretty basic, as far as what we did.”
Gibson had been on the NBA stage just once before. He appeared in 17 contests for the Dallas Mavericks at the beginning of the 2016-17 season, averaging 6.2 points over 13.6 minutes per game.
Gibson also had extensive playing experience overseas. He most recently played for the Qingdao DoubleStar Eagles of the Chinese Basketball Association, with whom he averaged 33.7 points, 6.8 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.5 steals per game this past season.
The scoring aspect of Gibson’s game is what caught Boston’s eye, and that’s what coach Brad Stevens was hoping he’d bring to the table right away.
“We’ve been very well aware of him for a long time,” Stevens told media ahead of Friday’s game. “He’s really highly thought of. And we need a guy that can put the ball in the basket.”
Gibson barely batted an eye at those lofty expectations: “I agree with that. I’m an aggressive player. I’ve been like that my whole life. It’s natural for me.”
It sure looked natural once Gibson hit the court for the first time at TD Garden. He made his debut at the start of the fourth quarter, checking in during crunch time with the Celtics holding on to a slim, 79-76 lead.
It took Gibson just one minute and 16 seconds to make his first mark in green, as he knocked down his first 3-point attempt from the left wing. Less than two minutes later, he canned another trey – this one a 28-footer from the right wing that broke an 86-86 tie to put the Celtics ahead for good.
Gibson could hardly contain himself when that second shot fell. He made a 3-point symbol with his right hand and banged his fingers on the side of his head in celebration while galloping back toward the other basket. Chicago immediately called a timeout and Gibson made his way back to Boston’s bench, receiving handshakes and embraces from his teammates all along the way.
Meanwhile, Celtics fans across arena rose to their feet and applauded the unlikely spark plug.
Courtesy: NBA.com
