BOSTON – Jaylen Brown couldn’t stop smiling as he stood on the Auerbach Center practice court Monday afternoon, watching Marcus Smart achieve a longtime dream by earning the NBA's 2021-22 Defensive Player of the Year award.

Standing front and center among the rest of his Celtics teammates under one of the baskets, a full Poland Springs water bottle in hand, the veteran wing was first in line to help deliver a celebratory shower, roaring with laughter as he emptied his bottle over his point guard's head.

As his longest-standing teammate, Brown felt every bit of Smart’s excitement at that moment, because this was a journey that they had shared together.

A special moment today celebrating the heart and soul of our team, @smart_MS3 ☘️ pic.twitter.com/OPcgYbMmxt

“It’s great to celebrate your teammate for all the hard work, all the effort you’ve watched him put in from day one,” said Brown, who has been by Smart’s side for his entire six-year NBA career. “I’ve learned so much from Marcus, how to compete in everything on that side of the ball, how he changes the game.”

Smart’s ability to change the game is what has allowed him to be the only unchanging aspect of the team throughout the past eight seasons. He’s made it through an entire rebuild and years of constant roster turnover while helping to re-establish a winning culture for the most historically successful NBA team.

Entering the league at the start of Smart’s third season, Brown got to experience first-hand the blossoming of one of the greatest leaders in Celtics history. He saw the rise of a relentless competitor who could inspire and bring the best out of any player in any type of role.

Smart’s defensive energy has always been particularly contagious, as countless teammates have expressed their willingness and desire to match his intensity on that end of the floor, becomming better defenders as a result.

"A lot of my defensive grit and my will to fight out there I get from just watching him,” said Rob Williams, who finished seventh in the voting for DPOY. “Even in practice, him being vocal. On the court, he’s a great defensive anchor for us, but he’s a better leader.”

Smart has been such an effective leader that many of his teammates have transformed into mini extensions of himself. So it only makes sense that Smart’s extensions would experience the same level of happiness that he felt Monday afternoon when he earned the recognition that he had long been striving for.

“To see that for a guy,” said Grant Williams, “especially like Smart who puts his heart and soul every single night into every single game, it just shows a little bit of love that I feel like we give him every single day.”

By putting his heart and soul into every single game, Smart has helped the Celtics rise from the 21st-ranked defense in his rookie season to the top-ranked defense in the present day. For those who have been with him throughout the majority of his journey, their appreciation for him is as high as the TD Garden rafters.

“Marcus cemented his name as one of the defensive greats,” said Brown, “which we all knew, but now it’s etched in stone. I think that’s pretty exciting. We couldn’t be more proud of him.”

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