Wiz of Awes
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Washington Wizards: Washington Annihilated and Thoroughly Embarrassed the Celtics in Game 4

By Jen Julie Smith

May 7, 2017; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal (3) and guard John Wall (2) leave the court after the game against the Boston Celtics in game four of the second round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
May 7, 2017; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal (3) and guard John Wall (2) leave the court after the game against the Boston Celtics in game four of the second round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports /
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May 7, 2017; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards head coach Scott Brooks on the bench against the Boston Celtics during the second quarter in game four of the second round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
May 7, 2017; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards head coach Scott Brooks on the bench against the Boston Celtics during the second quarter in game four of the second round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports /

The Wizards’ Owner is a Rock Star

Pre-game, Wizards’ owner Ted Leonsis was interviewed by Phil Chenier and Chris Miller, both of CSN-Mid Atlantic.

Leonsis started off the interview with, “Hello Cleveland.”

When discussing Kelly Oubre, Jr.’s suspension, Leonsis responded, that Kelly Olynyk had been “headhunting”, and believed that Oubre’s suspension was harsh.

Just like 2014, when Nene Hilario was suspended, Leonsis, in solidarity, wore an Oubre jersey over one his many blue cardigans to the game.

But last Tuesday, Leonsis went from solidarity to a straight up soldier. When Markieff Morris spoke with Al Horford before tip-off, to determine whether Horford purposely planted his foot where Keef would land after his jump shot, Horford’s answer was not satisfactory.

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Less than a minute into the game, as Horford was chasing a loose ball out of bounds, Keef lifted him up and threw Horford, who ended up landing on Leonsis.

During the interview, Leonsis said, he was surprised because he had just sat down, and was introducing himself to the Washington Post photographer.

When asked if he said anything to Horford, Leonsis admitted he said something, but he’s going to keep it to himself.

But since I like to provide you with the full story, here’s how it went, in his Robert De Niro voice: “Get your [ ] up, or I’ll throw it for you across the court, you degenerate.” Ok, so it’s a mixture of De Niro and Joe Pesci.

So we’ve witnessed the solidarity and soldier that’s inside Leonsis. Yet, there’s another aspect that I witnessed throughout the season. There was a game where John Wall was just getting bodied from all sides, and as Wall said, he was being smacked in the head, and not getting any calls. So Wall took the matter into his own hands, and received a technical.

As he was walking towards the bench, the camera panned to Leonsis offering a bit of solace to Wall. Leonsis in that moment said it doesn’t matter what they said or did to you on the court, I have your back.

Leonsis is like your favorite uncle, whereby no matter what you did wrong, he tells you to take your lickin’ but keep your chin up and most of all your calm.

Although Leonsis was born in Brooklyn, he grew up in Lowell, Mass., which is north of Boston. I’m from the South Shore, hence 20 miles south of Boston. But the common thread throughout the Commonwealth is, although we may do it privately and quietly, we take care of our own.

So it’s refreshing to see a league owner who doesn’t see his players only in terms of revenue, but truly as an extended #dcfamily.

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