"Mad he didn't get a ring" - Grant Williams' unnecessary hit on Jayson Tatum leaves Celtics fans outraged

Celtics fans were furious after Grant Williams collided with Jayson Tatum in the fourth quarter of Boston’s game against the Charlotte Hornets on Friday, which the defending champions won 124-109. Williams, who was selected 22nd in the 2019 NBA draft by Boston, had reached the NBA Finals with the Celtics in 2022.

Tatum was dribbling the ball down the court for the Celtics when Williams appeared out of nowhere and knocked him over. Both players brushed off the incident after the play, but upon review, officials ruled it a Flagrant 2 foul, ejecting the Hornets forward.

Celtics fans expressed frustration with their former player on X (formerly Twitter).

“Grant Williams has always been a loser but this is next level clown behavior. Don’t be all buddy buddy with Tatum and then pull this trash. Guy remains a bum,” one said.

“What a freaking bum. I hope we send someone in to lay him up. Mans mad he didn’t get a ring smh,” another said.

The 2024 NBA Finals featured the Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks — two teams Williams had played for. However, since his last season with the Celtics was two years ago, he was ineligible for a championship ring.

Renowned Celtics fan Bill Simmons said:

“Come on Grant Williams - that was lame.”

Here are other reactions to Grant Williams’ hit on Tatum:

“Did contact drills with draymond this summer,” one said.

“Wtf was that he didn’t even try to hide it or make it seem like he was going for the ball,” another said.

“Why is he such a little salty b***h he wasn’t on the championship team,” one fan commented.

Looking at Grant Williams' stats against the Celtics

After being drafted by the Celtics, Grant Williams primarily came off the bench in his first two seasons, scoring under five points per game each season. By his third season, he raised his scoring average to 7.8 ppg, starting 21 of 77 games.

In his fourth and final year with Boston, he started 23 of 79 games, achieving career highs with 8.1 ppg and 4.6 rebounds per game.

That offseason, Williams entered restricted free agency and joined the Dallas Mavericks through a three-team trade, signing a four-year, $54 million contract.

Since then, he’s faced his former team three times, averaging 10.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg and 2.3 assists in 27.1 minutes per game.

He played only 47 games for the Mavericks before being traded midseason to the Charlotte Hornets.

His best game against the Celtics came in April, when he posted 23 points, seven rebounds and two assists on 10-for-16 shooting, though the Hornets lost 118-104.

On Friday night, he recorded six points, seven rebounds, and three assists in 30 minutes before being ejected for the Flagrant 2 foul.