This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

NBA players are familiar with battling on the court, but in a huge offseason and free agency period for the NBA, the battle has spilled over into an emoji war. As prized Utah Jazz free agent Gordon Hayward visits teams like the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat, Jazz center Rudy Gobert is understandably working to retain his teammate and hold the Jazz's core together.

Gobert, an already creative social media user, stepped up his Twitter game Saturday night, tweeting a series of emojis that included a palm tree next to a trash can (presumably to represent the Heat), a shamrock next to a poop emoji (presumably to represent the Celtics) and a saxophone next to a trophy — for obvious reasons.

Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas took exception to Gobert's tweet, following it up shortly afterward with an emoji series of his own, featuring a palm tree next to three trophies, a shamrock followed by 17 trophies and a saxophone next to an emoji crossing its arms to represent the championship totals of the three franchises.

Not to be outdone, Heat center Hassan Whiteside posted a response tweet with emojis representing the time period of 2000 to 2017, a shamrock followed by a single ring emoji, a palm tree followed by three ring emojis and a saxophone followed by three shrugging emojis.

Hayward is in Boston for the Celtics' recruiting pitch Sunday, complete with a welcome message on the Fenway Park video board, followed by a meeting planned with the Jazz on Monday.

bsmith@sltrib.com

Twitter: @BrennanJSmith