Miami Marlins manager Don Mattingly turned 57 on Friday.
So how did he celebrate ahead of his team's game in Milwaukee against the Brewers? By shooting hoops with the Boston Celtics.
As seen in a short video posted to Twitter by Celtics beat reporter Jay King, Mattingly was on hand prior to the Celtics' shootaround at the BMO Harris Bradley Center ahead of their NBA first-round playoff game against the Milwaukee Bucks. Mattingly, wearing a purple dress shirt and jeans, sank the one jumper he attempted that was on the video.
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Celtics' general manager Danny Ainge and a small group affiliated with the team attended the Marlins-Brewers game the night before at Miller Park.
"It was a lot of fun," Mattingly said. "Their coach Brad [Stevens] is from Indiana and we watched him at Butler."
Mattingly, who was born in Evansville, Indiana, said he got the chance to talk for a while on Friday with Stevens, who was hired by the Celtics in 2013 after a successful college coaching career at Butler University that included a pair of Final Four appearances. The Celtics made the playoffs in his second season at the helm after undergoing significant roster changes.
With the Marlins starting over under new ownership this season, Mattingly said he and Stevens shared insights on the challenges of coaching a team during such a transitional period.
"They've kind of been down our road, the road we are on right now building this thing is the same road basically they've been on the last few years now," Mattingly said. "They're farther down the road in that process, but it was good just to talk to him and speak on some of those things they've been trying to do and watch him work.
"When you get a chance to go meet [San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg] Popovich when I was out in L.A. and see some of the things they do in terms of building culture and building teams. Brad has been going through it the past few years so little things he might say are things that might apply to our situation as far as culture and where we're going and how to deal with what we're doing right now."
Mattingly and the Marlins will be in Milwaukee through the weekend as they finish a four-game series with the Brewers. Miami dropped the first game 12-3 on Thursday and is now 5-13 on the season.
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