Kyrie Irving left Cleveland Cavaliers and the shadow of LeBron James behind last year by linking up with Boston Celtics.
And he quickly proved his decision was justified by guiding the 17-time NBA champions towards an Eastern Conference playoff berth.
Irving’s season was ended early though when it was revealed he needed a tension wire removing from his left knee, followed by screws from his patella.
And it was then up to his team-mates to come to the fore under Brad Stevens, with Rozier doing the business.
A couple of years Irving’s junior, Rozier stepped up to the plate as Boston Celtics went on to lose out to beaten finalists Cavaliers in the playoffs.
Rozier has now credited Stevens with helping him fill Irving’s shoes in the wake of the 26-year-old’s knee problems.
And he’s revealed the simple motivational message he was given by the Celtics head coach.
“I remember when Kyrie went down, I was in the gym shooting by myself,” Rozier told GQ.
“This was probably a couple hours before practice or something.
“I just remember him telling me—looking me in my eyes, you can just tell it came from the heart—he was just like, ‘You ready?’
“Like: You’re just as good as those guys. Don’t think for a second that you’re not.
“Don’t take a back seat to no one. You gotta play the top guards if the playoff runs happen.
“He’s not saying all this but I know this is what he’s thinking.
“Be ready. Don’t think too much.
“Just go out there and have fun. This is what you want.
“I’m happy I got the opportunity. At the same time, I got a feeling for Kyrie.
“Everybody was counting us out. Teams were trying to lose on purpose to play us, to drop to seven seed to play us.
“It’s just like, the whole world is watching now. When opportunity come knocking at the door, you gotta answer.”
Rozier maintains a strong bond with Stevens, who’s gearing Celtics up for the oncoming NBA campaign.
And he’s revealed what Stevens has to say to him on a daily basis.
“‘Control what you can control,’” Rozier added, when asked what his head coach tells him.
“He’s great at just connecting with people – don’t matter what background you come from. He’s so involved.
“I can be down about some things. He just reminds me, ‘What you doing, Terry? This is a blessing. Get it right.’”
Celtics begin the 2018/19 season by playing host to Philadelphia 76ers on October 17.