Grant Williams and Jayson Tatum were teammates with the Boston Celtics for four seasons from 2019 to 2023. Before the Celtics played Williams’ current team, the Charlotte Hornets, the six-year veteran said it was “special” to see his former teammates win the NBA championship last season.
“To be honest, I didn’t really feel down about leaving Boston,” Williams said, via Noa Dalzell of CLNS Media. “I wasn’t one of those where, if I had left there, like there was some bad blood, it would have been different.”
Some will question that “bad” comment after Williams gave Tatum a hit more appropriate for an NFL game than an NBA game near the end of Boston’s 124-109 win over Charlotte on Friday. With 2:02 left in the game, Tatum grabbed a rebound and brought the ball downfield. Williams ran up to him at halfcourt and laid him out with a shoulder block.
Williams was called for a Flagrant 2 foul and ejected from the game.
“Grant Williams is accelerating and has a significant impact on the dribbler,” referee James Williams explained as he upgraded the foul to a Flagrant 2. “A non-basketball play, potential for injury.”
Looking at the play, it’s hard to argue that Williams was trying to go for the ball. Maybe he was trying to force a turnover with the score 114-105. But he just ran into Tatum, leading with his shoulder. As the referee said, “a non-basketball game.”
Tatum walked away without confronting Williams, perhaps because he just wanted the match to end. Maybe he knows how his former teammate plays sometimes. But Tatum’s current teammates, most notably Jaylen Brown, seemed to think differently and yelled at Williams as he left the field.
After the game, Brown ripped Williams and said the collision was intentional.
“Actions speak loudly. It is what it is, we won, but there’s no place for that in the game,” Brown said, via the Boston Herald. “I thought JT and Grant were friends. I don’t think so.”
“What are we talking about? Do you all see the same piece I saw?’ he added. “He hit him like it was a football match, like Ray Lewis coming down the middle or something. It is what it is. Grant knows better than that.”
Speaking to NBC Sports Boston, Williams claimed he didn’t want to hurt Tatum.
“I think it was more him not seeing me more than anything,” Williams said. “Like I’m reaching, and I definitely made contact with the body before I reached it.
“Probably a hard foul; certainly not intentional. I’m not trying to hurt him in any way. We all know this is one of my best friends in the league.”
Tatum led the Celtics with 32 points and 11 rebounds and made 11 of 13 free throws. Williams had six points, seven rebounds and five personal fouls before being ejected. LaMelo Ball led the Hornets with 31 points.
If anyone is holding a grudge over Williams’ blatant foul. that could soon become clear. The Celtics and Hornets play again on Saturday for the second end of a back-to-back.
