New Boston Celtics forward Joe Johnson reportedly took a break from pursuing his own hot yoga business in Atlanta to sign a 10-day contract with the team, according to The Undefeated’s Marc Spears. Within three hours of a call from his agent, Johnson was on a plane to Boston to sign a short-term deal, as many other veterans have in recent weeks as COVID-19 cases rise in the league.
Johnson took up hot yoga in 2009 to help with knee tendinitis and Achilles issues while he was playing for the Atlanta Hawks to help with injury prevention. Johnson told Spears the challenge of hot yoga gives him the same mental feelings that basketball does.
Johnson was originally taken by the Celtics with the No. 10 pick in the 2001 NBA Draft. He played 48 games in green before getting traded to the Phoenix Suns before the season’s end.