NBA Twitter isn’t happy with “SportsCenter.”
Shortly after news broke Wednesday that Celtics star Marcus Smart may be headed to Memphis in a three-team deal with the Wizards, the ESPN program posted a Photoshopped image of the 29-year-old guard sporting blue hair and a Grizzlies uniform on Twitter.
The image drew the ire of some fans as Smart has sported green hair since Boston’s playoff run in May 2022 to honor his late mother Camellia.
“[Not gonna lie] if you know the reason to why Marcus Smart dyed his hair green this is absolutely disrespectful… media needs to do better,” one user tweeted in response to the image.
Another added, “Changing the hair color to blue is nasty knowing the true meaning of why he dyed it in the first place.”
“For those who don’t know, Marcus Smart dyed his hair green in memory of his mother, who passed away,” one user wrote. “So changing it to blue is a bit off putting.”
Smart revealed the significance behind his green hair ahead of Game 6 of the NBA Finals against the Warriors last June.
“[My mom] always loved my hair [and] the things I was doing with it, from the braids to letting it grow out,” Smart said in a video shared by the NBA on Twitter. “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 died in 2018 after a battle with cancer at the age of 63.
The veteran guard debuted his green hair ahead of Boston’s second-round series against the Bucks on May 1, 2022.
Celtics fans embraced Smart’s hair color, with some fans following suit at TD Garden in Boston.
Smart, who has been called the heart and soul of the Celtics, has become synonymous with the hairstyle.
In an interview with The Post in May, Smart said he was keeping the green hair because it became “a very trendy” style that fans love.
“A lot of people actually love the style, but you might see me really go between this style and the braids that I usually wear, but I’m trying to keep the style,” he said at the time.
The Celtics’ barber, Coco Fernandez, told WCVB at the time that it takes “almost a cool three hours” for him and his assistant to dye Smart’s hair green.
The Celtics are finalizing a trade to acquire the Wizards’ Kristaps Porzingis in a three-team deal with the Grizzlies and Washington, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
In the deal, Memphis gets Smart and Washington gets three players — Danilo Gallinari, Mike Muscala, and Tyus Jones — and a second-round pick in Thursday night’s 2023 NBA Draft.
The Grizzlies are sending a 2023 first-round pick to the Celtics, the No. 25 overall selection in Thursday’s draft, along with a 2024 pick via Golden State for Smart.
The Grizzlies have been searching for a tough-minded, playoff-tested veteran for that young roster, making Smart a solid suitor, according to Wojnarowski.