Even if they’re not teammates anymore, Jayson Tatum still has Grant Williams’ back. The Boston Celtics superstar fired back when Mike Gorman said Williams was a bad teammate.
After the X account “NBACentral” aggregated a story from Gorman saying that Williams was annoying, Tatum gave a succinct response via his personal X account.
Tatum and Williams played together on the Celtics from 2019 to 2023 before the Celtics signed and traded him to the Dallas Mavericks.
Evidently, Tatum and Williams are still on good terms. On multiple occasions, the two have shown off their camaraderie. When Williams dressed up as Batman for a press conference during Halloween, Tatum interrupted the conference, mockingly asking what exactly Williams was doing.
However, since the two have not played together, Tatum has let Williams know that they are rivals when they take the floor. Tatum viciously blocked one of Williams’ shots back when the Celtics and Mavericks faced off.
Williams has since been traded to the Hornets, who the Celtics will face two more times before the regular season ends.
Mike Gorman Says Grant Williams was ‘Bad Locker Room Guy’
Tatum responded to Celtics’ color commentator Mike Gorman, who explained on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Toucher & Hardy” that Williams’ antics had a short life.
“He was annoying to everybody. I think, initially, everybody thought he was kind of a wise ass, but he’s kind of cute, and he’s kind of funny. Then it just kind of wore thin. It got thin in Dallas, obviously. If you start to take on (Luka) Doncic, obviously, you’re not going to be around for long.”
Gorman also explained that because Williams is a role player, it is easier for teams to get rid of him.
“He had some issues in that area (that) if he doesn’t get rid of, he doesn’t have enough for teams to say, ‘Well okay, but despite that, we’re going to keep him here because he’s a great player.’ He’s not. He’s an extra. An eighth, ninth, or tenth guy on your roster, so those guys are very replaceable. The guy’s a bad locker room guy. If you’re a bad locker room guy, you’re an eighth or ninth guy, you’re not going to be the eighth or ninth guy for long because you’re not going to be on the team for long.”
Williams only played 47 games for the Mavericks before they traded him and a first-round pick for PJ Washington.
Michael Finley Recalled Luka Doncic-Grant Williams Spat
Mavericks assistant general manager Michael Finley explained a Mavericks practice skirmish between Williams and Luka Doncic on 105.3 The FAN on March 11.
“One day in practice, a player on our team, I won’t call his name out — but it’s Grant Williams. He decided he wanted to get under Luka’s skin. He felt Luka didn’t come that day ready to practice. To make a long story short, they had a scrimmage going on, and he was talking trash to Luka up and down the court. So finally, Luka says ‘Okay,” and Luka went on a 26-6 run by himself. You can ask anybody, I’m not exaggerating. He showed everything, the 3s, the postups, the floaters, everything by himself.”
Finley made it sound as though everyone was more in awe of Doncic than disappointed in Williams.
“Everybody on the sidelines, including the coaches said do not poke the bear. That’s what everybody kept saying, do not poke the bear. We had guests in the gym at the time, and they were on the sidelines oohing and ahhing. It was unbelievable. I was over there and the kid couldn’t miss. I’m not talking easy shots, he was showing the whole repertoire in this five or six minute span. It was a 26-6 run by himself.”
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