He is all smiles now, joshing with reporters and extolling how Boston helped make him what he is today as one of the leaders of a team on the cusp of an NBA championship which would be his second. As Kyrie Irving has said, this is the best part of his career, one that has already produced a ring with Cleveland, various accolades, and more highlights than one can count.
Most of the narrative about the 32-year-old this week has been about his prodigal return to Boston, which he left as a controversial figure in 2019 for the Brooklyn Nets.