Grant Williams wasn't one of the Celtics to address the media after Sunday's win in Denver, so he put in a request to one of Boston's superstars.
"Grant did a great job," Jaylen Brown said of Williams' Sunday performance. "He wanted me to tell the media that he wanted his nickname to be Batman. Now, I said, 'I don't know about that one, Grant. But if you play like you played today, you know, I might give you a Frank Lucas or something like that.' Grant held it down on defense. I'm proud of him.
"He told me to come in and say that. So, he did his job, so I'm doing mine. So, I like Batman, y'all should call Grant Williams Batman from now on."
Much like the starters, Boston's bench did very well against Denver on Sunday. Williams was among those who thrived, finishing with 13 points, six rebounds and two blocks in 27 minutes. One of those blocked shots came against Nikola Jokic, and that was just a small bit of the role Williams played in containing the reigning NBA MVP throughout Boston's 124-104 win.
Jayson Tatum was not aware of Williams' request, and that may have been a strategic move on Williams' part. Because it took Tatum a second to gather himself when the situation was explained to him by reporters in Denver.
"Grant wants his nickname to be…uh…Grant — I mean, I can't understand why Grant would want to be called Batman," Tatum said. "I'm sure I'm going to ask him when I get on the bus. But, Grant played great tonight. But I'm going to call him Grant — not calling him no damn Batman."
Perhaps Williams felt he earned the honor because he helped stifle the player commonly known as Joker? In fairness, not many players have done that. Still, it's a reach — maybe we can talk if Williams does it a dozen more times or so.
