Getty Boston Celtics point guard Kenny Anderson handles the ball during a game against the Seattle SuperSonics.
The Boston Celtics‘ 2021 postseason run begins on Saturday night when Jayson Tatum and his team take the court at Barclays Center for Game 1 of their series against the Brooklyn Nets. Unsurprisingly, hoops pundits are overwhelmingly picking the Nets to advance with little resistance from the Beantowners.
With the playoff opener just hours away, Sports Illustrated‘s panel of experts gave their picks for the series. Outside of Michael Pina, who sees Brooklyn beating Boston in six games, none of them picked the Celtics to survive more than five games in the best of seven series.
Nevertheless, both fanbases are getting loud and proud about their respective squads. Former players are even getting in on the action.
On Saturday morning, a retired All-Star point guard who spent a significant amount of time playing for both franchises made it clear where he stands on the series.
The latest Celtics news straight to your inbox! Join the Heavy on Celtics newsletter here!
Join Heavy on Celtics!
Kenny Anderson Reveals Who He’s Rooting For
During the 1990s and early 2000s, Kenny Anderson was undoubtedly one of the better point guards in the Association. After prep and collegiate runs that still rank with the best the sport has ever seen, Anderson was selected by the then-New Jersey Nets with No. 2 overall pick in the 1991 NBA Draft.
He went on to appear in more than 300 games with the Nets over parts of five seasons, putting up 15.3 points, 7.8 assists and 1.6 steals per contest. In 1994, he and teammate Derrick Coleman were named to the Eastern Conference All-Star team.
However, he also played parts of five seasons with the Celtics from 1998 to 2002. In his 241 appearances with the franchise, he averaged 11.3 points, 5.2 assists and 1.6 steals per game.
So, given his history with both clubs, who is Anderson rooting for in the current series between them? He revealed his choice via Twitter —
I will always rep @BrooklynNets
In the tweeted picture, Anderson was sporting a modern-day Nets jersey with his name and number on the back. Meanwhile, the caption read, “I will always rep
@BrooklynNets.”
It should probably be noted that Brooklyn has something of a home-court advantage with the 50-year-old. Anderson was born and raised in neighboring Queens, where he also became a legend at Archbishop Molloy High School in Briarwood.
Anderson Offers Big-Time Praise for the Celtics
While Anderson is rolling with the Nets in the series, he still had high praise for the Celtics. After revealing his allegiance to Brooklyn, a fan asked him what the best organization he had ever played for was. In short order, he fired back a tweet namechecking the Celtics, as well as the Portland Trail Blazers.
That declaration speaks volumes about his affinity for the Cs organization, especially considering the fact that they never really won until his final year with the team.
In addition to shouting out the organization, Anderson also tweeted a picture of himself wearing a pair of Celtics socks along with a Nets baseball cap.
It would seem that you can take the man out of Boston, but you can’t take Boston out of the man.