Celtics
“It doesn’t matter what occurs in our life, I’m gonna have his again.”
Grant Williams was a reliable participant off the bench for the Celtics for 4 seasons from 2019-23 — forming a detailed bond with Jayson Tatum over his profitable tenure in Boston.
However Williams almost burned a number of bridges with Tatum and the Celtics in November after delivering an affordable shot in opposition to Boston’s prime participant.
Wiliams — who now performs for the Charlotte Hornets — drew the ire of the Celtics in Boston’s 124-109 win on Nov. 1 after Williams delivered a blindside hit on Tatum that dropped the celebrity ahead to the courtroom.
Williams was assessed a flagrant 2 foul on the play and was later ejected. Earlier than leaving the courtroom, Williams exchanged phrases with former teammate Jaylen Brown, who known as out Williams throughout his postgame press convention.
“I don’t know what that was about. I feel that spoke for itself,” Brown stated of Williams’ hit on Tatum. “That wasn’t a basketball play. Grant is aware of higher than that. … There’s no place within the sport for that. I assumed JT and Grant had been buddies. I suppose not.
“It was for certain intentional,” Brown added. “What are we speaking about? Did y’all see the identical play? He hit him prefer it was a soccer play, Ray Lewis coming throughout the center or one thing.”
After the incident, Williams even acknowledged to NBC Sports activities Boston’s Kayla Burton that he may be persona non grata together with his former Celtics teammates after the hit.
“I’d assume most of these guys gained’t be coming over for dinner tonight,” Williams informed Burton. “… I had wings and stuff ready, so it’s form of humorous that the sport ended that approach. However I’ll see them tomorrow; we’ll compete once more.”
Months after that play, Williams acknowledged to CLNS Media’s Bobby Manning that he’s on good phrases with Tatum — whereas additionally acknowledging that delivering that open-court hit was a poor determination.
“Me and J.T. are cool. That’s my dawg, endlessly,” Williams informed Manning. “It doesn’t matter what occurs in our life, I’m gonna have his again and I consider he’s gonna have mine as effectively. I made an immature act. When that occurred, I mirrored on it and on the time, I feel I form of brushed it off.
“It’s useful that the harm gave me a perspective, too. It’s similar to ensuring you’re not solely doing issues the appropriate approach, but additionally competing and stuff like that and recklessness. So I used to be in a position to have that dialog and that’s being two mature males, that’s a man that will do something for me and I really feel like I’d do something for him as effectively.”
It’s been a tough season for Williams — who was dominated out for the rest of the 2024-25 season after struggling a torn ACL on Nov. 23. However Williams appears to have smoothed over tensions with Tatum and the Celtics, as he was noticed chatting with Tatum after Boston’s regular-season finale victory over Charlotte on Sunday.
“(Tatum) will all the time be household,” Williams informed Manning. “I informed his mother, you gotta curse me out quickly. I don’t know when it’s gonna occur, however she has to.”
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