Dream comes true for UMass' Gaffney: He's a Celtic

BOSTON - Tony Gaffney is a lifelong Celtics fan with, as he put it, "the best seat in the house." The Berkley, Mass., native has a replica parquet floor in his bedroom and pictures of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parrish on his wall. A John Havlicek jersey is among his collection, but the most prized of them all is the one he's yet to wear.

That would be his own.

Gaffney is a 6-8 forward who is literally living the dream of any New England kid who giddily strolls up to the TD Garden this week for the NBA Finals: He truly is a Celtic. Danny Ainge signed the former UMass standout three days before the end of the regular season, mainly to have him in the fold for the summer league roster in July. But while he has yet to even be in uniform for a game, the ride into June and to the NBA Finals has been an amazing experience.

"It's indescribable," the 25-year-old Gaffney said before the team's practice here on Wednesday. "People ask me what it's like and I don't have any words."

Gaffney, the Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year who was third in the NCAA with 3.8 blocked shots per game, was speechless after he went undrafted last June and his agent told him some good news: An NBA team wanted to sign him for the summer league team. Who was it?

The Lakers.

"I was like, 'Wow, really?'" Gaffney said, as he was somewhat uncomfortable with the idea of putting on the hated purple and gold.

"And then five minutes later I was like, 'That's kind of cool.'" he said. "Especially because they just won the championship."

Gaffney played on the Lakers' summer league team and did well enough to be one of two players - remember, the Lakers sold their first-round pick, Toney Douglas, to the Knicks - off the squad to earn an invitation to training camp. Gaffney then stuck with the team through camp and even appeared in all seven preseason games. But the day before the regular-season opener, Gaffney was cut.

But not before he came away with some valuable experience being so close to players such as Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Derek Fisher and a coach like Phil Jackson.

"It's pretty cool, but it also sets a pretty high standard," Gaffney said. "It's good to watch and when that's what you see, that's what you end up expecting of yourself."

It's a lesson he hoped to take with him to Israel, where his basketball career led him next, but a broken foot sidelined him only a month later. Just as he was cleared by doctors to resume workouts, his agent, Sam Porter, already had Ainge on the phone. The next thing he knew, he was picking out his jersey number.

"There weren't many to choose from," No. 26 said with a laugh. "They're all up in the rafters."

None of this has made him a rich man by any means. The team puts him up at a hotel near the practice facility just to spare him the 45-minute commute from southern Massachusetts every day, but aside from the basic perks, Gaffney has earned barely $3,000 in salary as a roster player. But for a boy who grew up hearing of the Celtics teams from the 1980s (he was 18 months old when the Bird Era celebrated its last title in 1986) and dreaming of being part of the next championship era in the franchise's storied history, you can't put a price on this experience.

"It's been a crazy ride," he said. "I'm looking forward for it to continue. I'm dying to play right now."