Grant Dean Williams (born November 30, 1998) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player for the Boston Celtics of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

(NBA). He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

Tennessee Volunteers The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in Division I of the National Collegi ...

. Williams was drafted 22nd overall in the

2019 NBA draft The 2019 NBA draft was held on June 20, 2019. It took place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible players, i ...

by the Celtics. He reached the NBA Finals with the team in 2022.

College career

Williams was an All-

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

player as a freshman, sophomore, and junior for the Tennessee Volunteers. He was awarded back-to-back SEC Player of the Year honors for the 2017–18 and 2018–19 seasons, becoming the first player to do so since

Corliss Williamson Corliss Mondari Williamson (born December 4, 1973) is an American basketball coach and former basketball player who played for four teams during his 12-year NBA career. He last served as an assistant coach for the Phoenix Suns. His nickname i ...

in 1995. Williams led Tennessee as a third seed in the 2018 NCAA tournament and second seed in the 2019 NCAA tournament.

Professional career

Boston Celtics (2019–present)

Williams was selected with the 22nd overall draft pick by the Boston Celtics in the 2019 NBA draft. On July 11, 2019, the Celtics announced that they had signed him to a four-year, $11.8 million rookie-scale contract. On October 23, 2019, Williams made his professional debut, coming off the bench in a loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. On December 4, 2019, he made his first career start in a winning effort against the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The club plays its home games at FT ...

. In an effort to garner support for teammates making the

2020 NBA All-Star Game The 2020 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game that was played on February 16, 2020, during the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2019–20 season. It was the 69th edition of the NBA All-Star Game, and was played at the United ...

, Williams pledged to dye his hair pink if

Jaylen Brown Jaylen Marselles Brown (born October 24, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played one year of college basketball for the California Golden Bears, being n ...

Jayson Tatum Jayson Christopher Tatum Sr. (; born March 3, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A McDonald's All-American in high school in Missouri, he played college baske ...

, and Kemba Walker all received a selection. However, Williams did not do so as Brown did not make the team. Williams finished his rookie season averaging just over 15 minutes per game in 69 games, 3.4 points per game, and 2.6 rebounds per game. Upon completion of the

2020–21 NBA season The 2020–21 NBA season was the 75th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA), though the 75th anniversary was not celebrated until the following season. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the regular season was reduced to 72 games for ea ...

, Williams' second season in the league, he slightly increased his averages in all major statistical categories. He finished the season averaging just over 18 minutes per game, 4.7 points per game, and 2.8 rebounds per game. On March 21, 2022, Williams scored a then career-high 20 points in a win against the

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays i ...

. He finished the

2021–22 NBA season The 2021–22 NBA season was the 76th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The NBA returned to a full 82-game regular season in its normal mid-October to mid-April schedule for the first time since the 2018–19 NBA season, aft ...

with career-best averages with over 24 minutes per game, 7.8 points per game, and 3.6 rebounds per game. On May 15, Williams scored a career-high 27 points in a decisive Game 7 win over the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. His performance was highlighted by a 7-for-18 mark from three point range, records for both made threes and three attempts in an NBA Game 7. Williams helped the Celtics reach the NBA Finals, but lost to the Golden State Warriors in 6 games. On October 26, 2022, Williams was suspended for one game without pay for making contact with a game official during a 102–120 loss to the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January ...

two days earlier.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

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, 61 , , 9 , , 18.1 , , .437 , , .372 , , .588 , , 2.8 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , .4 , , 4.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 77 , , 21 , , 24.4 , , .475 , , .411 , , .905 , , 3.6 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , .7 , , 7.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 209 , , 35 , , 19.4 , , .449 , , .369 , , .775 , , 3.0 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , .6 , , 5.4

Playoffs

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, 5 , , 0 , , 11.4 , , .500 , , .500 , , 1.000 , , 2.0 , , .8 , , .2 , , .8 , , 3.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

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, 24 , , 5 , , 27.3 , , .433 , , .393 , , .808 , , 3.8 , , .8 , , .3 , , .8 , , 8.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 46 , , 5 , , 19.2 , , .457 , , .427 , , .800 , , 2.8 , , .6 , , .2 , , .6 , , 5.9

College

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Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, 32 , , 29 , , 25.4 , , .504 , , .375 , , .667 , , 5.9 , , 1.1 , , .8 , , 1.9 , , 12.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;",

, 35 , , 35 , , 28.8 , , .473 , , .120 , , .764 , , 6.0 , , 1.9 , , .6 , , 1.3 , , 15.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;",

, 37 , , 37 , , 31.9 , , .564 , , .326 , , .819 , , 7.5 , , 3.2 , , 1.1 , , 1.5 , , 18.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 104 , , 101 , , 28.9 , , .516 , , .291 , , .758 , , 6.5 , , 2.1 , , .9 , , 1.5 , , 15.7

Personal life

Williams' mother, Teresa Johnson, is an electrical engineer for

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...

. His father, Gilbert, is a jazz artist and former college basketball player, who has worked as a bodyguard for musicians, including

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...

. He is a cousin of former NBA players

Salim Salim, Saleem or Selim may refer to: People *Salim (name), or Saleem or Salem or Selim, a name of Arabic origin * Salim (poet) (1800–1866) * Saleem (playwright) (fl. 1996) *Selim I, Selim II and Selim III, Ottoman Sultans * Selim people, an e ...

and

Damon Stoudamire Damon Lamon Stoudamire (born September 3, 1973) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is currently an assistant coach for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) The , point guard was selected ...

. Turning down offers from

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight school ...

schools Harvard and

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

, Williams graduated from Tennessee in three years with a degree in business. At Tennessee, he received the C & C Millwright Athletic Scholarship. Williams threw out the first pitch at the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

game on August 7, 2019.

References

External links

Boston Celtics profileTennessee Volunteers profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Grant 1998 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Houston Boston Celtics draft picks Boston Celtics players Power forwards (basketball) Tennessee Volunteers basketball players