Three years following the former Kentucky guard’s tragic death, Terrence Clarke‘s legacy lives on, particularly in his hometown of Boston. And his mentor, Finals MVP Jaylen Brown, wanted to make sure he got his moment in the spotlight as his Celtics celebrated championship banner No. 18 this week.
As the team rode around Boston on duck boats for the title parade on Friday, Brown displayed a custom Celtics jersey with Clarke’s name and number while a Believe In Boston flag waved in the background.
It’s not the first time Brown has honored Clarke this season amid Boston’s championship run, also wearing the former Wildcat’s high school jersey during the 2024 NBA Slam Dunk Contest.
Brown, who averaged 20.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.0 assists in the Finals against the Dallas Mavericks en route to MVP honors, has long considered Clarke a ‘little brother’ of his dating back to his early days in Boston.
“We have a saying that we like to say in our family, that is ‘Energy lasts forever.’ And as long as we keep to uphold his name and speak his name in high spirits, Terrence is still alive,” Brown said in a speech during the unveiling of the Vine Street Community Center court remodeled in Clarke’s honor back in November of 2021. “And we’re gonna continue to honor him in the way that he needs to be honored. Terrence and me, we had a unique relationship. He was my little brother I never had.
“Always at my house, going through my closet, playing video games. I’m like, ‘Don’t you got school? What you doing here?’ He’s just always hanging out. So for him not to be here obviously is an emotional moment for me and my family. But also for everybody in this community. And like I said, as we continue to speak life on his name, Terrence is still alive. And he’s gonna continue to live forever.”
Brown presented Clarke’s mother, Osmine Clarke, a piece of the TD Garden parquet floor so she knew “a piece of him is with the Celtics as well.”
With Boston winning its first championship since Clarke’s death, the All-Star guard stuck to his word by keeping his legacy alive, celebrating banner No. 18 with a jersey honoring the late Kentucky guard.
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