The Boston Celtics pulled out a crucial Game 7 win against the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals on Sunday night. The Celtics will go on to face the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals, which begin on June 2. And they’ll be doing so with a very famous cheerleader rooting for them. Actress Nia Long posted a video of herself channeling her inner Laker girl to celebrate the Celtics’ win on Twitter. And although the video, captioned “Yes!!!” was only a few seconds long, it was the high kick at the end that had everyone talking. As of Tuesday afternoon, the clip has racked up over 2.5 million views.
One user replied, “Udoka definitely winning on and off the court.” Another wrote, “@NiaLong pulling some African dance moves like.”
The Celtics are coached by Long’s is fiancé Ime Udoka. In his first-year as head coach, Udoka is taking the Celtics to the finals for the first time in 12 years. In an interview with Yahoo! Sports, Udoka says he feels good about his team’s chances of winning, even though they are considered an underdog in the series. “We’ve played Golden State well this year. We blasted them at their place, had a tough loss at our place early in the season,” he said. “And so it’s a new series. We know who we are and the things we do well, so we’re confident in that.”
Long and Udoka, who have been together since 2010, announced their engagement in 2015. The couple has a ten-year-old son, Kez Sunday Udoka. But while they have a long history together, the actress told Essence in a 2020 interview that she and her man are not ready to rush down the aisle.
“I understand the religious aspect of marriage. That is beautiful and it’s fantastical and it’s dreamy and it’s every girl’s fantasy to have that moment. But I don’t know that I need that to feel like I’m in a partnership that’s working,” she said.