Everyone is feeling the March Madness this year — even the pros.
The 2025 NCAA Tournament officially tipped off on Thursday, and office brackets the world over felt the pain of some shocking upsets.
Boston Celtics players may be far removed from their own collegiate growing pains, but that doesn’t mean their social media team was letting them off the hook.
To commemorate this season’s tournament kickoff, Boston’s social team snuck jerseys from star players’ college rivals into a batch of swag they were instructed to sign.
The reigning champs have grown wise to their social team’s pranktastic ways, however, and many of them anticipated that some shenanigans would be afoot.
Six-time All-Star power forward Jayson Tatum, a Duke alum, quickly threw away a North Carolina jersey when he discovered it in his pile.
“Nah, I like North Carolina,” Tatum conceded. “They wear my shoes. But it’s tournament time so I gotta run with Duke. Still got love for them. Can’t sign [the jersey], but…”
All these moments appear to have been recorded separately, so none of the players witnessed their teammates’ reactions or were tipped off about the rival jersey sneak-attack plan.
Four-time All-Star Boston small forward Jaylen Brown, who went to the University of California at Berkeley, similarly shunned a Stanford jersey that had been snuck into the collection.
“What is this? Who tried to sneak this in here?” Brown laughed. He promptly dropped the jersey off the table.
Two-time All-Defensive Team guard Derrick White, a 2025 All-Star pseudo-snub, was wary from the jump.
“There’s always something with you guys,” a suspicious White said as he approached a table full of jerseys to sign. “You don’t fool me.”
White, 30, was a First-Team All-Pac-12 honoree while at Colorado. He quickly rejected a Nebraska jersey when he came upon it in his assigned pile.
“Weak-ass Nebraska,” White joked when he beheld the jersey. “Although, great facilities.”
Nevertheless, the 6-foot-4 guard promptly tossed the jersey away from him down the table.
UCLA legend Jrue Holiday, another Pac-12 alum, was a man of few words as he dutifully signed his jerseys. Once he found an Arizona jersey among his pile, Holiday expediently deposited the threads on the ground.
“Come on now,” Holiday said. “Don’t do that.”
To reiterate his disdain, Holiday jokingly kicked the Wildcats jersey already on the ground.
Key reserve guard Payton Pritchard, an Oregon product, was served an Oregon State jersey.
“That’s a disgusting colorway,” Pritchard opined of the offending jersey.
Sixth man power forward/center Al Horford, who won two NCAA titles on some legendary Florida teams alongside Joakim Noah and Corey Brewer, was similarly annoyed by the Kentucky jersey he found.
“I don’t even know if I can touch this,” Horford said. “Gator bait!”
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