Stromile Swift was home in Louisiana bouncing around League Pass on Monday night when his phone started buzzing.
One of his close friends is a Boston Celtics fan and when Luke Kornet did Swiftâs trademark bird-wing celebration following a dunk in Mondayâs win over the Hornets, Swift's buddy excitedly messaged him to seek out the highlight.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Boston sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
The Celtics are usually one of Swiftâs favorite League Pass teams, especially given a relationship with fellow Shreveport, La. product Robert Williams III. Soon he was watching the broadcast and even stuck around for Kornetâs locker room interview.
"I thought the celebration was good but the interview was even better," said the 43-year-old Swift, the No. 2 pick in the 2000 draft who played nine NBA seasons. "Iâm just happy some of these younger guys still remember me."
Celtics Talk: Breaking down Luke Kornet's Stromile Swift homage, Blake Griffin turning back the clock, plus 1-on-1 with Derrick White | Listen & Subscribe | Watch on YouTube
Boston Celtics
Find the latest Boston Celtics news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Boston.
We suspect the many highlight reels of Swiftâs best NBA dunks got a big uptick in views on Monday night. Swift was a powerful dunker who brought an undeniable energy to the court.
Swift said the bird celebration originated during his high school days as a way to make his friends laugh after big dunks. Which made watching the Celtics bench delight in Kornetâs celebration all the more rewarding to Swift.
"You can see how much those guys enjoy playing with each other," said Swift. "Itâs a long season, youâre traveling all over the country, and you donât always have that sort of relationship with guys. You can see those guys are having fun out there."
Google Swiftâs highlights and youâll see him throwing down an array of powerful slams, including over the likes of Yao Ming, and then quickly hitting his trademark celebration. Swift now coaches high school basketball at Word of God Academy in Louisiana and enjoys when his players eventually stumble upon his highlight reels.
As Kornetâs celebration spread across the internet, Swift texted former NBA teammate and current Celtics assistant coach Damon Stoudamire with direction to give Kornet his seal of approval for utilizing the celebration.
Swift also thinks these Celtics are capable of big things this season.
"Once Rob is back out there, they have a team capable of getting back to the Finals," said Swift. "Maybe even win the whole thing."
The Swift celebration came at a good time. Someone broke into Swift's truck on Monday and all the buzz about Kornetâs homage was a nice diversion.
And knowing that a little bit of Swift's legacy still lives on, and that a younger generation might be seeking out his highlights today, was even sweeter for Swift.