Getty Aaron Nesmith of the Indiana Pacers
Former Boston Celtics lottery pick Aaron Nesmith had his best game with his new team, the Indiana Pacers, on November 19. Nesmith’s heroics in the clutch, between hitting 3s and free throws in crunch time, helped the Pacers defeat the Orlando Magic 114-113.
Aaron Nesmith closed out the Pacers’ win with some clutch hustle plays 💪
He finished with 19 PTS, 3 REB, and 5 3PM
During his on-court postgame interview with Bally Sports, teammates Tyrese Haliburton and TJ McConnell showered Nesmith with water, causing him to slip and fall on the court in what could have led to an injury.
we can confirm Aaron Nesmith is in good spirits after the postgame celebration got a little wild.😅
Nesmith appeared to be fine, laughing and smiling as he toweled off. Nesmith’s 19 points was a career high, and in the 11 games he’s played for the Pacers, he has averaged 7.4 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists while shooting 39.7% from the field and 35% from three.
Nesmith is one of only two players in the Malcolm Brogdon trade in July who remain with the Pacers. The other one is Daniel Theis, who has yet to play this season. The other three — Nik Stauskas, Malik Fitts and Juwan Morgan — were waived by the team.
Celtics History With Postgame Showers
The Celtics have been known over the past couple of years to give postgame showers following a victory. Back when Gordon Hayward was on the team, Celtics teammates would give him Gatorade showers during his postgame interviews when he was the game’s standout.
Like the time in December 2018 when he scored 30 points in a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Or after the January 2019 game when he put up 35 points, against the Timberwolves again.
Or the time two months later when he hit the game-winning shot against the Sacramento Kings.
Over time, it would not pertain to just Hayward. When Ime Udoka got his first win as a head coach against the Houston Rockets, the Celtics gave him a postgame shower in their locker room.
Win number 1 for Coach U ☘️🎉
When the Celtics defeated the Miami Heat in the 2022 Eastern Conference Finals, Udoka advised against another locker room shower because they had already done that before, to which Jayson Tatum disagreed in an NSFW statement.
When Joe Mazzulla took the reins as the Celtics’ interim head coach following Udoka’s suspension, the locker room gave him a postgame shower after they beat the Philadelphia 76ers on opening night.
Nesmith’s Thoughts on Being Traded
After the Celtics traded Nesmith to the Pacers in July, he joined their Summer League team. While talking with reporters, Nesmith opened up on how he felt when he heard that he had been traded.
“I was completely caught off guard,” Nesmith said. “I was golfing. I was on the sixth hole. I was playing pretty decent. I got the phone call and messed my day up. I played one more hole and called it a day… [Brad] said he appreciated my time there, he believed in me, and this would be a great opportunity for me moving forward.”
The Celtics picked him 14th overall in the 2020 draft, a pick they had originally acquired in 2015 when the team traded Jeff Green to the Memphis Grizzlies. Nesmith had to deal with the unorthodox NBA schedule the league had put out due to COVID-19 on top of a foot injury. He showed promise when his minutes spiked in the last 10 games of his rookie season, averaging 9.7 points while shooting 53.6% from the field and 45.2% from three.
He fell out of the rotation when Udoka took over for Brad Stevens as head coach last season, though he should get more opportunities with the Pacers in his third NBA season.