SALT LAKE CITY — Vivint Arena was relatively quiet roughly an hour before tip-off as Gordon Hayward participated in pregame warm-ups while fans were still piling in their seats.
Fourteen-year-old Maui Stucker was one of the few who watched in awe with her Boston Celtics Hayward T-shirt, while holding up a white sign with green letters that read: “#20 Hayward Wherever U Go I’ll Follow (heart sign), Your #1 Fan.”
“I love Hayward,” the smiling ninth grade Fairfield Junior High School student said.
But once the team warm-ups and player introductions were announced ahead of Friday’s Utah Jazz-Boston Celtics matchup, there was a completely different tone throughout the arena for Hayward’s first time back in Utah.