Duncan Robinson wanted to get revenge on his hometown friends when he taunted the Celtics in Game 7.
The most disrespectful moment of the Miami Heat’s Game 7 win against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals came from a Heat player who grew up going to Celtics games. Heat forward Duncan Robinson hails from New England, where he began a winding journey to the NBA that started at D3 Williams, took him to Michigan, and eventually led him to the Heat as an undrafted free agent. Williams now plays on a $90 million contract, and faced off against his childhood team in the NBA Playoffs with a spot in the NBA Finals on the line.
As the Heat pulled away from Boston midway through the fourth quarter, Robinson had a special message for the hometown fans. Robinson cut backdoor for a layup, the Celtics called timeout, and Robinson held his hand to his ear like a ‘90s professional wrestler to taunt the Boston fans. The fact that even Duncan Robinson was talking shit to the Celtics turned into a meme that was widely shared after the game.
Robinson went on JJ Redick’s podcast “The Old Man and the Three” and explained why he taunted Celtics fans. It was all premeditated after Robinson was put on a group text of Celtics fans from someone he went to high school with. Listen to him tell the story here:
“My number got put in a group chat somewhere,” Robinson said. “It was a massive group chat. So after We lose Game 6, my phone is blowing up from all these random New England numbers. They’re sending me memes of the Curt Schilling bloody sock. It’s all these random numbers, like 70 texts.”
“I was like, if I get the chance to go into the Garden, I’m going to do something.”
Robinson said he hoped he could taunt the hometown fans after hitting his seventh three-pointer of the night. Instead, Robinson had a modest game (10 points), but he still went for it with the fourth quarter lead becoming insurmountable.
I still can’t believe this happened:
Robinson was a huge part of Miami’s 2020 NBA Finals run inside the bubble, and re-signed with the team on a huge contract a year later. He fell out of the rotation for most of this year, but has reestablished himself as part of Miami’s bench in the playoffs. Robinson seriously has one of the most inspiring and unlikely of any player in the NBA.
It’s been such a cool journey to the NBA for Robinson, and this is another great moment.
