10 Things To Know About Robert Williams

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BOSTON — The Boston Celtics selected former Texas A&M center Robert Williams III with the 27th-overall pick in Thursday’s NBA Draft.

Here are 10 things to know about the newest member of the team:

He has unthinkably long arms.
(AP Photo/Bob Leverone)
He has unthinkably long arms.
Williams has a 7-foot-6 wingspan, which immediately gives him one of the NBA’s longest. It’s the same length as never-ending stars Kristaps Porzingis’ and Anthony Davis’. It means Williams doesn’t have to leave the floor all that much to alter shots around the rim. Of course, that doesn’t stop him from doing so anyway.

He can jump really high.
(AP Photo/Gerry Broome, File)
He can jump really high.
Williams didn’t measure his max vertical at this year’s NBA combine, but he has skied for a 40-inch one before, which would have been good for the best of any big man by a few inches at this year’s combine. And he has combined springiness with length to become quite the difference-maker around the rim at Texas A&M.

He was one of the NCAA’s best shot-blockers this season.
(AP Photo/Jae Hong)
He was one of the NCAA’s best shot-blockers this season.
Williams blocked 2.6 shots per game this year, which was good for an impressive 4.1 swats per 40 minutes played. He blocked 10.4 percent of attempted 2-point shots while he was on this floor, which ranked 15th in the NCAA. Michigan State’s Jaren Jackson led this year's draft class in NCAA block rate at 14.3 percent.

He almost entered the 2017 NBA Draft. And he may have gotten picked higher then.
(AP Photo/Bob Leverone)
He almost entered the 2017 NBA Draft. And he may have gotten picked higher then.
Williams thought about entering the 2017 NBA Draft but chose not to, figuring he could boost his stock even more if he came back to Texas A&M for a sophomore season. At the time, there was chatter about him being a first-round pick. Heading into this year’s draft, many thought he’d go in the middle of the first. Of course, things went differently.

“In his mind, [Williams] truly believes he can be the No. 1 or a top-five pick,” Texas A&M teammate Tyler Davis told ESPN’s Jeff Goodman in November. “ That's what he's reaching for — that and reaching his potential. Getting his work ethic up there, playing harder all the time."

He was suspended at the beginning of this past season.
(AP Photo/Michael Woods)
He was suspended at the beginning of this past season.
Texas A&M suspended Williams for the first two games of 2017-18 for what the school deemed “violation of university policy.” Celtics general manager Danny Ainge explained his thoughts on the violation Thursday.

“We do our own background checks,” Ainge said. “We don't really read what everybody else says. But, you know, when you say people are projected, that was before they even went through the draft process. So I never really believe that.”


(AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
He was a four-star recruit coming out of high-school class.
Williams, who went to North Caddo High School in Vivian, La., was the No. 50 recruit in the 2016 high school class, according to the ESPNU top 100. Rivals.com ranked him as the No. 67 recruit in the class of ’16.



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Here he comes @celtics! @rob_williamsIII

7:39 PM - Jun 21, 2018
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He decided to watch the draft from an unconventional place.
Some players get invited to the green room in Brooklyn, N.Y., to watch the draft from inside Barclays Center. Others show up without an actual invite from the NBA, coming out of the crowd to put on hats and shake hands when the commissioner calls their names. Williams, however, decided to watch at home in Louisiana — at a Buffalo Wild Wings. Here’s the video, straight from B.W.W., of his reaction after getting drafted.


(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
The Celtics believe he’s more than just a one-dimensional player.
Williams earned a reputation at A&M as a rim-diving center, someone who could set screens and dart to the hoop to finish pick-and-rolls. But Celtics coach Brad Stevens said he believes Williams has potential as a ball-handler and passer, and Ainge confirmed he thinks the same.

“We've seen him handle the ball. We've seen him get rebounds and push the ball up the court,” Ainge said. “There's moments in his career where we've seen him make fantastic passes, just touch passes that are beautiful. So we see the potential in him being a guy that plays in Brad's system that does handle the ball some.”


Robert Williams

@rob_williamsIII
The earth is flat...

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He may or may not fit in wonderfully with Celtics star Kyrie Irving.
No, this has nothing to do with basketball. It has nothing to do with science either, apparently. Just this spring, on April 6, Williams questioned the same science Irving has. (For those uncertain, don't be. The Earth is not flat.)



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.@T_Rozzay3 really FaceTimed Danny Ainge to get the Celtics pick on the B/R draft show