Grant Williams Named A Finalist For Teammate Of The Year Award
BOSTON (CBS) -- Grant Williams can't get his teammates to call him "Batman" or get a lob pass from Jayson Tatum without them rolling their eyes. But the third-year Celtics forward may bring home a pretty special award this season.
His teammates love to have some fun at Williams' expense, but they also love to have him on the court. So it should come as no surprise that Williams was announced as one of the 12 finalists for the 2021-22 Twyman Stokes Teammate of the Year Award on Wednesday.
The award "recognizes the player deemed the best teammate based on selfless play, on- and off-court leadership as a mentor and role model to other NBA players, and commitment and dedication to team," per the NBA. Williams certainly checks all of those boxes.
He's an extremely selfless player dedicated to Boston's success over his own glory (minus his unfilled requests for an occasional alley-oop) and he's a solid off-court role model with a passion for mentoring. Last year, Williams received the Bill Russell Mentoring Award, for his work with a number of Boston-area teens. He's also a pretty big goof who keeps it light for his teammates.
Williams, a first-round pick by the Celtics in 2019, has enjoyed a breakout year for Boston in 2021-22. He's seen action in 71 games so far, including 19 starts, and has averaged career-highs in points (7.8) and rebounds (3.5) per game. He's become an opportunistic three-point shooter, hitting 42 percent of his threes, and has been downright lethal from the corners, hitting 48 percent of his attempts.
He'll be playing a bigger role for Boston heading into the playoffs, with Robert Williams now sidelined for at least the next month.
