May 02, 2023
Eric Hartline/USA TODAY Sports
Eagles star DeVonta Smith rang the bell for the Philadlephia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center before a loss against Boston, even though he's a proud Celtics fan. On Monday night, Smith joked about the tension between playing in Philly and rooting for Boston's NBA team.
Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith has earned his stripes in Philly as a big play, clutch competitor through his first two seasons in the NFL.
There's nothing not to love about Smith's game and personality, except for one minor trifle — that he's a fan of the Boston Celtics. When Smith was drafted by the Eagles in 2021, he told NBC Sports Philadelphia's John Clark that it would be tough to shake him from his NBA team of choice.
"You can for sure get me to the game, but convert me?" Smith said. "I don't know about that one."
In February, in front of a roaring Philly crowd, Smith rang the ceremonial bell at the Wells Fargo Center when the 76ers faced the Celtics in a regular season game.
And then, after Boston's 110-107 victory on a Jayson Tatum game-winner, the Celtics star autographed and gave his jersey to Smith.
Remember this rendezvous?
DeVonta Smith gets an autographed jersey from Celtics star Jayson Tatum on Feb. 25 at the Wells Fargo Center.
It was a little different on Monday night, when the Sixers dug out a thrilling, 119-115 road victory over the Celtics — without Joel Embiid — in Game One of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Smith was tweeting about the game during the night, this time showing a bit more support for the Sixers, at least in the sense that he appreciated their grit. When some fans playfully got on Smith's case, he said he'll be happy regardless of who wins the series, but he's staying true to the Celtics.
If it ain’t broke don’t fix it ! @JHarden13
— DeVonta Smith (@DeVontaSmith_6) May 2, 2023
It’s a win win for me no matter who win the series 🤣 so y’all gone see my tweets regardless!
— DeVonta Smith (@DeVontaSmith_6) May 2, 2023
And no I’m not switching sides i just love basketball 🤣
— DeVonta Smith (@DeVontaSmith_6) May 2, 2023
At around the same time as these tweets, another Twitter account for the DeVonta Smith Celebrity Softball Game poked fun at the Heisman Trophy winner with an enthusiastic "Go Sixers!!!" tweet. Smith responded, joking that the person who manages the account needs to take it easy.
Aye man whoever tweeting from this page chill out 🤣 https://t.co/9UsweeTK43
— DeVonta Smith (@DeVontaSmith_6) May 2, 2023
Huge props to the person who runs that Twitter page. Just an amazing troll job.
Smith's celebrity softball game is entering its second year in the Lehigh Valley, where it will be held at Coca Cola Park in Allentown on Saturday, June 10. The philanthropic event brings together Eagles players and others from around the NFL to put on a show with a home run derby and a seven-inning game. Last year's event featured Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown, Darius Slay, Micah Parsons, Jaylen Waddle, Dallas Goedert and more.
The Sixers have a 1-0 lead over Boston in what figures to be a classic slugfest of a series. Keep an eye on Smith's Twitter account for a little entertainment on the side of the upcoming games. Maybe, if the Sixers can take care of business, Tatum will be free to suit up for Smith's softball game next month.
