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Not long- not athletic, but Grant Williams' will have a long NBA career

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Many NBA analysts projected Grant Williams to get taken late-first round ot early in the second round of the 2019 draft. His lack of athleticism and short stature for a power forward  (6'7") made some feel that his talents may not be translatable to the NBA (per Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman):

Rookie-year projection

Williams has the chance to be a surprise rookie contributor based on his physicality, skill level and intangibles. The coaching staff could feel comfortable giving him early minutes thanks to his defensive discipline and offensive efficiency. He won't give off rookie vibes. His maturity should become obvious. Williams may not be playable every night while he looks to become a more threatening spot-up shooter, but he'll get his opportunity for reserve minutes. 

Well, in his second season in the League, Williams is proving he belongs. This season, he is averaging 18.0 MPG, 5.3 PPG, 2.7 RPG and only 0.8 turnovers per game. In the Celtics 111-107 win last night over the Warriors, the 22nd pick in the 2019 draft scored 15 points on a perfect 4-of-4 from the field and 3-of-3 on treys (per NBA's Taylor Snow):

“I thought he did a lot of good things for us today,” said Boston’s head coach. “[The Warriors] are hard because you have to be up on all those screens that (Steph) Curry comes off, which we didn’t do a great job of, and then you also have to be physical and protect the paint. Grant gave us a little bit of both of that and I thought he did a good job on the back of our zone communicating. And then he came up with some big rebounds.”

Williams’ defensive communication, in particular, was a major plus for a Celtics team that had been struggling on that end to start the season. His vocal guidance from the middle of the floor provided a comforting presence for his teammates.

The height and athleticism may be lacking, but Grant Williams has poise, maturity, skills and one terrific attitude. .He showed he can become that "threatening spot up shooter" that was potentially projected for him. 

Grant may never be a star in this League, but he belongs. His outing versus Golden State was needed for the win, and he came through. We should be seeing more of that with Marcus Smart out of action for the next few weeks with a calf injury. 



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