When former Texas A&M University big man Robert Williams fell to the Boston Celtics at No. 27 overall in the 2018 NBA Draft, general manager and former Celtics great Danny Ainge was simply overjoyed.
To start off the weekend on Friday, Ainge and the Celtics officially introduced their first-round pick Williams at the newly-opened Auerbach Center, the team's new practice facility in Brighton, Mass.
One thing that stood out to people immediately was that Williams held up his new No. 44 jersey, which was also worn by Ainge during his very productive career with the Celtics during the 1980's.
According to a tweet from Celtics beat reporter Chris Forsberg of ESPN, Ainge was asked what he thought about the rookie wearing his No. 44. Ainge was fully supportive of Williams' number choice and even made a hilarious reference to Celtics fan-favorite Brian Scalabrine, who also wore No. 44 during his time with Boston.
“He’s allowed to wear 44, absolutely,” Aigne said of Williams. “If Scal’s allowed, anybody’s allowed.”
Danny Ainge on Robert Williams wearing his old No. 44 jersey. “He’s allowed to wear 44, absolutely. If Scal’s allowed, anybody’s allowed."
— Chris Forsberg (@ChrisForsberg_) June 29, 2018
As for the 20-year-old Williams himself, he seems to be very happy to be in Boston and had the utmost amount of praise for the team, city, and its fans.
“As I said from the beginning, it’s a great fit,” Williams said, via Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. “I’m coming into a team that’s competing to be in the Finals. It’s a blessing. With the fans and city behind them, it makes it 10 times better. I feel like I fell in a great place.”
During his two seasons at Texas A&M, the 6-foot-10-inch Williams put up some very good numbers with 11.1 points, 8.7 rebounds, and a whopping 2.5 blocked shots per game in 61 career contests.
Follow Us
Subscribe