Jayson Tatum's new celebration is perfect because it's not forced. After drilling a game-clinching 3-pointer against the Grizzlies on March 3, he spontaneously turned and blew a theatrical two-armed kiss to the crowd.
He went home and his young son Deuce mirrored the motion, at which point Tatum knew he had a keeper. He has since repeated it against the Nets and Hornets and again in Sunday's victory over the Nuggets.
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It has a chance to stick as a signature NBA celebration along the lines of Steph Curry's shoulder shimmy or Russell Westbrook's rock-a-baby or Jamal Murray's blue arrow. Maybe one day we'll even think of it like a certain green-and-white patriarch's victory cigar.
That's getting ahead of the game, but the first thing we need to do is give it a name that fits not only Tatum's personality, but also honors its roots.
How about this: the Goodnight Kiss.
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Teammates and our very own Chris Forsberg have labeled it the Kiss of Death, and that name has had a couple of weeks to lay roots. It certainly signals the end of the road for the opponent Tatum has just vanquished.
"That kiss of death is deadly," teammate Marcus Smart noted recently. "We all see it. It comes at the perfect time. And it comes at the time as an opponent you just drop your head like you've got to tip your hat off to him."
But it doesn't necessarily suit Tatum's temperament. It's an aggressive name for someone so understated and chill. The Kiss of Death would've fit, say, Kevin Garnett or Kobe Bryant. Tatum's unflappable and smooth by contrast.
The Goodnight Kiss, on the other hand, works on multiple levels. For one, it connotes the finality of whatever dagger Tatum has just nailed without sounding so discordantly violent.
Perhaps more importantly, it's also a callback to his son, who's the reason he's doing it in the first place. One can imagine young Deuce being ushered off to bed the moment he watches his dad kiss another overmatched foe good night.
Of course, it's entirely possible I'm overthinking this and that Kiss of Death became the moniker of choice for a reason. After all, as the Celtics rampage across the NBA, Tatum keeps claiming high-profile victims, and maybe I'm misreading the zeitgeist; I'm no fan of calling Robert Williams "Time Lord," either, and it's safe to say that's not going anywhere.
So what do you think, Celtics fans? Kiss of Death or Goodnight Kiss?
Tatum's celebration is uniquely, authentically him, and it sure looks like it's here to stay, so let's make sure we give it the right name.