Kenny Anderson was an All-Star with the New Jersey Nets four years before he was traded to Boston during the 1997-98 Season, and the Point Guard was able to average double-digits (11.3) in the PPG stat over his four seasons with the team.  Peaking with the Celtics with a 14.0 PPG campaign in 1999-00, he would average 1.9 Steals per Game two years later, which would be good enough for ninth overall.

The Boston Celtics drafted the Yugoslavian-born Dino Radja in the 2nd Round of the 1989 Draft, but it took until the 1993-94 season for the Power Forward to elect to leave Europe to play in the United States.

Dana Barros signed with the Celtics as a Free Agent the year after he was named an All-Star and the Most Improved Player of the Year Award with the Sixers.  With all due respect to Barros, the Celtics didn’t get that player, though the Point Guard did get a hometown player who gave them solid efficiency (16.4 PER) and a 10.1 PPG.  Barros' first two seasons in Boston would see him average 12.8 Points, and in his third year, his PER was 18.6.  He would leave Boston as part of a four-team trade, but came back as an Assistant Coach in 2004 and would play in one game that year.

As of this writing, Marcus Smart is entering his ninth season in the NBA, all of which have been with the Boston Celtics.  The 2014 6^th Overall Pick from Oklahoma State, Smart was a good pickup for the Celtics and earned Second Team All-Rookie honors with 7.8 Points and 1.5 Steals per Game season.  Smart would later have two straight seasons where he averaged over 10 Points per Game (2016-17 & 2017-18), and while he dipped below that season, he was sixth in Steals per Game and first in Steal Percentage, which would secure him a First Team All-Defensive Selection.  He repeated his First Team All-Defensive honor in 2020, and his glove-like acumen secured Smart as the 2022 Defensive Player of the Year.  Smart had another good year in 2022-23, but the Celtics traded him after the year in a three-way deal to get Kristaps Porzingis.

Smart might not be the most efficient player, but he leaves everything he has on the court and was a worthy recipient of the 2019, 2022, and 2023 Hustle Award —the third player ever to win the trophy and the first three-time winner.  This is a player whose defense could gain him forever stardom in Boston lore.