Getty Luke Kornet #40, Boston Celtics
During the game between the Boston Celtics and Charlotte Hornets, Marcus Smart threw an alley-oop to Luke Kornet, who slammed it home. After completing the play, Kornet celebrated by putting his hands together and flapping them like they were wings.
Luke Kornet with the slam and the 👐
After the game, Kornet said that such a celebration was him paying homage to former NBA player Stromile Swift. Swift, who was the no. 2 pick in the 2000 NBA Draft, gave his thoughts on Kornet paying homage to him to Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston.
“I thought the celebration was good, but the interview was even better,” Swift told Forsberg. “I’m just happy some of these younger guys still remember me.”
Swift then said that the way Kornet and the Celtics paid homage to him demonstrated how much the Celtics like playing with one another.
“You can see how much those guys enjoy playing with each other,” Swift said. “It’s a long season, you’re traveling all over the country, and you don’t always have that sort of relationship with guys. You can see those guys are having fun out there.”
Swift played in the NBA from 2000 to 2009, where he played for the Vancouver/Memphis Grizzlies, Houston Rockets, New Jersey Nets, and Phoenix Suns. During his time in the league, he would use that signature celebration after making a highlight reel dunk.
Kornet Explains Homage to Swift
After the Celtics beat the Hornets, Kornet explained why he decided to pay homage to Swift. Even though Kornet was the one who paid homage to Swift, he claims that much of it had to do with teammate Grant Williams.
“There’s a couple of times last year where Grant was just elevating on guys, and so we drew the comp to Stromile Swift, and there’s some alternate nicknames. So then, we’ve been wanting to have it. It’s a great celebration. I realized Grant, for one, has some similarities, but I felt like I myself was just looking in the mirror, so I deemed it appropriate.”
Kornet then revealed who came up with the idea in the first place, which was not him or Williams, for that matter.
“(Williams) didn’t originate it,” Kornet said. “I think it was P-West, our trainer Paul West. He was the originator. All credit to him.”
Kornet Singles Out Grant Williams
While Kornet was talking with reporters after the Hornets game, Grant Williams could be heard in the back saying, “Luke, you’re my favorite player,” to which Kornet responded by saying, “Thanks, Grant. You’re one of my favorite teammates.”
The feeling is clearly mutual between the two Celtics, as Williams admitted during Boston’s Junior Camp that Kornet was among his favorite teammates currently on the Celtics because, as Williams put it, Kornet is the nicest guy a fan could ever meet, among other reasons.
Another Luke Kornet fan
This is the third year in which Williams and Kornet have been teammates together on the Celtics, but this is the first season in which the two started out as teammates compared to the last two in which Kornet joined the team mid-season.