Rozier insisted that it was just a slip of the tongue. Eric Bledsoe didn’t take very kindly to it, the next day using an expletive to say he did not even know who Rozier was.

For Rozier, it was his first time truly in the spotlight. He had just started his first playoff game in place of the injured Kyrie Irving, and now he was already taking shots at the opposing team’s point guard?

After the Celtics defeated the Bucks in Game 1 of their opening-round playoff series last year, point guard Terry Rozier sat at the podium and referred to Milwaukee point guard Eric Bledsoe as Drew Bledsoe, the former Patriots quarterback.


The truth, Rozier says now, is that the two had become friends when attending former Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas’s annual Memorial Day weekend charity basketball tournament in the Seattle area. When Rozier was drafted 16th overall by the Celtics in 2015, his game was sometimes compared to Bledsoe’s, so he sought him out at Thomas’s event after his rookie year and picked his brain a bit.

“Me and him, we’ve been cool,” Rozier said Wednesday, as their respective teams prepared to begin their rematch in the conference semifinals. “We still talk here and there. But none of that means nothing when you’re between the lines.”

And between the lines last spring, the intensity was palpable. Celtics fans chanted, “Who is Bledsoe?” during Game 2 at TD Garden, and the real Drew Bledsoe taped a video message that was shown on the video board during Game 7, and the crowd went bananas. The two point guards dueled, the Celtics won in seven, and Rozier’s play combined with his lovable brand of trash talk launched him into unlikely stardom seemingly overnight.

“A lot of that was special,” Rozier said. “It was a lot of fun. It was good. I’m thankful for the memories, but all I’ve got now is the memories on that.”


Over a thrilling few weeks, Rozier averaged 16.5 points, 5.7 assists, and 5.3 rebounds, bringing the Celtics within one game of the NBA Finals and leading some to wonder whether Boston might actually be better off with Rozier steering this team in place of Irving. By summer, Rozier was signing an endorsement deal to become one of the main faces of Puma’s return to the basketball market.

“They liked the little problems I cause,” Rozier said of the sneaker company. “They felt like I don’t tweet that much, but when I do tweet, it goes viral. They like stuff like that. So it was just perfect.”

Even with Irving’s return this year, Rozier appeared primed to continue the development he had shown in the playoffs. There were whispers that he would be seeking a contract paying nearly $20 million per year when he became a restricted free agent after this season.

But for Rozier, this year has not gone as planned. During the regular season he averaged 9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists on 38.7 percent shooting, and the Celtics were outscored by 0.2 points per 100 possessions with him on the floor, the only negative net rating among the team’s regular rotation players.

“Has it been how I wanted it? No,” Rozier said. “But I’m not going to sit up here and complain. I’m just going to be thankful that I’ve got this opportunity, that I’m wearing a Celtics uniform and just go out there and have fun.


“Being in this tough year I think was good for me. It’s something I needed to have happen to bring me back down after all that stuff last year. Now, I’ll be ready for more success I have coming.”

And perhaps for Rozier, it starts with the playoffs. In the opening-round sweep against the Pacers he was consistently summoned to pester Indiana’s guards with full-court defense, and to grab rebounds and ignite fast breaks. His +14.4 net rating was second best on the team, trailing only Al Horford.

“You know if you watch the playoffs enough, he can go to another level physically and competitively that can be effective especially this time of the year,” coach Brad Stevens said. “I’m really happy for him . . . Every minute he played felt impactful and we all know what he can do when he’s given more opportunity.”

So now, just more than one year later, it is sort of back to the start for Rozier. There is another matchup against the Bucks, another matchup against Bledsoe, another chance to raise his profile and perhaps even make himself some money this summer, even if his role will not quite be what it was last time.

“All this stuff, it kind of happens like this,” Rozier says, snapping his fingers. “Like, you don’t get really a chance to embrace it. So you’ve just got stay in the moment. When you’re trying to take off, you’ve got to be ready.”


Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @adamhimmelsbach.