Grant Williams was selected by the Celtics with the No. 22 overall pick in Thursday’s NBA draft, and we think Boston fans will take a liking to him rather quickly.
Williams spoke with the media via conference call following his first-round selection, and immediately made a good impression. The Tennessee product was on-time, boasted about the Celtics franchise and highlighted the likes of Larry Bird, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Kevin McHale, Danny Ainge and many others.
During his conference call, Grant Williams:
1. Called in early.
2. Said he was drafted by "the best franchise possible."
3. Praised Danny Ainge, Brad Stevens, Al Horford, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, Paul Pierce, KG, Ray Allen, Kevin McHale, and Larry Bird.— Nicole Yang (@nicolecyang) June 21, 2019
So yes, it’s very clear Williams is aware of the Celtics’ historic pedigree, but even after the draft-night spark had worn off, the 20-year-old still was glowing about Boston’s history.
In an interview on the “Paul Finebaum Show,” Williams said he was thinking about what number to wear with the Celtics, but the majority of them were taken thanks to all of the retired jerseys.
“I was like, ‘what number would I wear in Boston?’ Because almost every single number is retired, if you think about it. The number I wanted — Red Auerbach — it got retired. … You’re just like ‘dang, there’s a lot of history here’. …Â I’m excited to hopefully be a part of the team that I’ll be on the rest of my life.”
Check out the full clip below:
"Wait, who wore No. 5? KG… DANG! I've got to make my own name somehow."@Grant2Will talks with @finebaum about the history of the Celtics. He's still trying to figure out a number btw. pic.twitter.com/OsMHMYQtv9
— Louis Fernandez Jr (@LouFernandezJr) June 21, 2019
We think Williams is going to fit in just fine here. That is, when he finally decides on a number.
