Malcolm Brogdon admits he was hurt by Hawks fans booing him in Celtics’ Game 3 loss
"When I’m at home I want to be embraced, I want to be loved. I was born and raised here."
Prior to Friday’s Game 3 against the Hawks, Celtics guard and Atlanta native Malcolm Brogdon said that while he had love for his hometown, he didn’t grow up a fan of its NBA team and said the fans weren’t the “most dedicated.”
Hawks fans tested Brogdon’s statement on Friday, booing him when he touched the ball and starting a “Brog-don sucks” chant while watching their team win Game 3.
Brogdon admitted during pregame shootaround Sunday that he didn’t like the chant and jeers.
“It definitely hurts,” Brogdon told reporters Sunday. “I think it’s part of the game. I think there are going to be times when stuff like that happens. You get booed. But when I’m at home I want to be embraced, I want to be loved. I was born and raised here. This city raised me, and I love this city back. So, it’s all love.”
In a separate interview with The Athletic’s Jared Weiss, Brogdon said he thinks what he said Friday was “misconstrued” and that his words were “taken out of context.”
While Brogdon was hurt by Hawks fans’ jeers on Friday, he’s not letting it change his affection for his hometown.
“I just wanted to show them that I love this city,” Brogdon said. “At the end of the day I love the people, love the fans here. This is home for me. They’ve always embraced me. I want them to continue to do that, because I’m going to continue to rep this city, love this city, do good work in this city no matter what. Like I said in the article, my love here is undying. So, I love this place.”
Brogdon’s had a fine showing through the first three games of the Celtics’ first-round series against the Hawks. He’s scoring 11.7 points per game while averaging five assists and 4.3 rebounds per game. His biggest moment came in Game 2 when he hit a half-court shot at the buzzer that gave the Celtics the lead for good.
But Brogdon hasn’t been as efficient shooting the ball, making just 37.5 percent of his shots from the field and 30.8 percent of his 3-pointers.
Brogdon actually had his best offensive output in the series in Game 3, scoring 17 points on 7-of-15 shooting with five assists. However, it wasn’t enough for Boston to get the win, and so far, Brogdon accepting the Sixth Man of the Year award has been the highlight of the trip as the Celtics look to go up 3-1 in Sunday’s Game 4.
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