Marcus Smart Reveals the Special Reason for Dyeing His Hair Green

Celtics guard Marcus Smart has been sporting green hair during this year’s playoff run.

Ahead of Game 6 of the NBA Finals against the Warriors, Smart revealed the meaningful reason behind dyeing his hair apart from just representing the Celtics’ primary color.

“[My mom] always loved my hair [and] the things I was doing with it, from the braids to letting it grow out,” Smart said, via NBA. “And I started to dye it and she really liked that. She always said she wanted to see me in green, but obviously she passed away so she never got to see me [with green hair]. So, when we started this playoff run, I was like, ‘For her, I’m gonna go ahead and dye it and see what it looks like.’ Everybody loved it, so now it’s kinda here.”

Smart’s mother, Camellia, died in 2018 after she lost her battle with cancer at age 63. The 28-year-old has continued dyeing his hair in honor of her. The green hair made its debut ahead of Boston’s second-round series vs. the Bucks on May 1. 

The Celtics’ barber, Coco Fernandez, recently told WCVB that it takes almost three hours for him and his assistant to dye Smart’s hair green.

The guard is averaging 16.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.4 steals in the NBA Finals thus far. The Celtics trail the Warriors 3–2 in the series.