WALTHAM, Mass. -- Boston Celtics second-year big man Jordan Mickey made a promise, and that's what brought him to a suburban Party City where he towered above most of the pint-sized customers hunting for Halloween costumes. Mickey's shopping list: an Aladdin costume that might fit his 6-foot-8 frame.
A couple weeks earlier, Mickey had promised the daughter of teammate Jae Crowder that he would dress up as the Disney character of her choosing for a princess-themed 3rd birthday party. After some discussion, Mickey and young Jada settled on Agrabah's beloved thief.
"[Mickey] probably thought she was going to forget. But she didn’t forget and she reminded him time after time of what he was going to be," said Crowder. "He didn’t lose a bet. It wasn’t rookie duties. He just made a promise to my little one and she never forgot."
Mickey couldn't find an actual Aladdin costume, but pieced together a pirate outfit and Fez hat to achieve the desired look. Mickey didn't look particularly thrilled in a snapshot that teammate Jonas Jerebko posted to Instagram but said he never intended to go back on his word.
"We were all just talking one day around [Crowder's] house, and it came up that Jada was having her birthday party and it was princess-themed. She was just naming off characters, and she kind of told me that’s what she wanted me to be," said Mickey. "I just did it for her. I’ll do anything for a kid. That’s what she wanted so that’s what I came dressed up as."
It wasn't just Mickey who came in costume. Fellow 2015 draftee Terry Rozier and his girlfriend came as Mickey and Minnie Mouse. Their efforts weren't lost on Crowder, who seemed genuinely touched that his teammates went so far to brighten the day for his own princess.
Crowder, maybe more than any other veteran on Boston's roster, has opened his doors to Boston's youngest players. It's not uncommon for the Crowder family to host Mickey, Rozier, or rookie Jaylen Brown. And the bond those players have built off the court is reflected in the party snapshots that found their way onto social media.
"It’s more than basketball. We’re trying to build a brotherhood. Trying to be there for one another," said Crowder. "I think it makes the game much easier to play once you have a good cohesion off the court. I think that’s big because you come into a locker room at the NBA level, there's so much emotion, so much pride in the locker room. Off the court, we’ve never had that problem. We just always come together and be brothers, be there for one another. And it helps players unite with one another."
Veterans Jonas Jerebko and Amir Johnson, both dads to young daughters, were also in attendance for the "Frozen"-themed party. Crowder's entire family got dressed up for the event, blending seamlessly with the hired cosplayers that performed as Anna, Elsa, Sofia, and Rapunzel.
Rozier, who said his girlfriend tracked down their costumes while he was at practice one day, said bonding is important to Boston players.
"It’s more than basketball with us," said Rozier. "Mickey’s always at [Crowder's] house, I’m always at his house. Jae has always been looking out for us since we first came into the organization. Jada is like family and I call her my niece. She wanted me to be a frog [from "The Princess and the Frog"] but we couldn’t find a frog outfit, so we made sure that Mickey Mouse was fine.
"Like I said, she’s like family, so it was nothing. It wasn’t like, ‘You’re still a rookie, you got to dress this way.’" There wasn’t nothing to it. It was just whatever Jada wants, she gets it. It’s her birthday."
And Rozier believes those bonds translate onto the court.
"It means we can trust one another when you’re that close," said Rozier. "I feel like our trust just keeps going up and bonding helps. Bonding brings trust. And trust carries over to the court. It makes you successful."
Crowder says it'll probably mean even more to Jada as she gets older to realize how many NBA players went out of their way to enhance her birthday.
"She’s trying to figure out what we do," said Crowder. "She'll say, 'Daddy, why you taking pictures with people when we go out? Why are you signing this?' She’s trying to figure it out. It's kind of cool to see that stage of her trying to figure out what an NBA player is."
Or why all of her dad's really tall friends like to dress up for her birthday.