On this day in Boston Celtics history, the team selected one player of note in the 2018 NBA draft, held in New York City, New York. To the surprise of virtually everyone, raw but promising Texas A&M big man Robert Williams III, a rim-running, shot-blocking prospect, slid to the Celtics at No. 27.
Timelord — as Williams came to be called — is in his third season with Boston. While he had to deal with yet another season plagued with injury, he has shown considerable growth on both ends of the floor, even stealing the team’s starting role by the end of the 2020-21 NBA season and earning All-Defensive Second Team honors in the subsequent season.
Injuries have plagued his career in recent seasons, but after knee cleanup surgery in the 2022 offseason, the Louisiana Native appears to be on the mend in terms of health.
It is also the anniversary of the trade that sent former Boston big man Eric Montross to the Dallas Mavericks with a draft pick in exchange for the draft assets that became Antoine Walker and Ron Mercer.
Montross had been drafted by the Celtics with the ninth pick of the 1994 NBA draft and averaged 8.8 points and 6.6 rebounds per game over two seasons with Boston.
On this date in 1947, George Kaftan scored 30 points to lead us to a 60-45 victory over CCNY in the NCAA Semifinals! #TBT #WeWill pic.twitter.com/FSn9lW0S0o
— Holy Cross Men's Basketball (@HCrossMBB) March 22, 2018
In 1950, the Celtics sold the rights of small forward George “the Golden Greek” Kaftan to the New York Knicks.
Kaftan had been drafted by Boston out of Holy Cross with the fourth overall pick of the 1949 Basketball Association of America (BAA – a precursor league to the NBA).
He played for the franchise for two seasons, logging an average of 11 points and 2.7 assists per game with the Celtics.
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