Grant Williams ‘disappointed’ with no tribute video in TD Garden return originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Former Boston Celtics forward Grant Williams was left underwhelmed by his TD Garden return last month.
As a member of the Charlotte Hornets on April 12, Williams returned to Boston for the first time since the C’s parted ways with him last summer. The Celtics briefly showed him on the video board during the first quarter with a message that read, “Welcome back, Grant Williams.”
Williams received an ovation from the Garden crowd, but it was a quick acknowledgment of his presence that didn’t include a tribute video. During a recent episode of “The Cedric Maxwell Podcast,” Williams admitted he hoped there would be more.
“I was like, ‘Dang.’ I was like, ‘I don’t get no love,'” he said. “Was I a little disappointed? Yeah. Just because I feel like there was some great years in the four years that I was there. I was a kid that got drafted there and I was a kid that grew up there and was hopefully able to go through a lot of things that helped them get to the point where they are now.”
Marcus Smart, now with the Memphis Grizzlies, was the only ex-Celtic to receive a tribute video this season. Ex-Celtics center Robert Williams asked the team to skip the tribute video when he returned to TD Garden with the Portland Trail Blazers. The Celtics quickly acknowledged Robert Williams on the video board along with fellow former C’s Malcolm Brogdon and Dalano Banton when Boston hosted Portland on April 7.
Despite his disappointment, Grant Williams doesn’t harbor any ill will against the Celtics organization.
“I think it’s because when Rob (Williams) told them just wanted a salute or thank you or something like that,” Williams added. “They gave Smart the video and I gotta respect it. Smart was there for eight years and had a true impact on the city and the organization and everything else. As much as I was involved in the community and loved Boston and the organization, I think they were just trying to be consistent with what they did prior.”
The Celtics selected Williams out of Tennessee with the No. 22 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. The 25-year-old averaged 6.2 points and 3.4 rebounds per game while shooting 45.1 percent from the floor (37.7 percent from 3) in four seasons with Boston. His most memorable moment with the C’s came in Game 7 of the 2022 Eastern Conference semifinals when he led Boston to victory with a 27-point outburst vs. the Milwaukee Bucks.
Boston traded Williams to the Dallas Mavericks in July. The Mavs shipped him to the Hornets ahead of the NBA trade deadline in February.
