Grant Williams met Bill Russell for the first time during Sunday’s Celtics loss
"I just wanted to thank him for everything he's done for the game."
Grant Williams had his pick of celebrities to talk to at Sunday’s game against the Lakers, with actors Denzel Washington, Eddie Murphy, and Mark Wahlberg sitting courtside. But the rookie had his mind set on meeting someone else for the first time – Celtics legend Bill Russell.
Coming out of the locker room at halftime, Williams shook Russell’s hand, according to MassLive’s Tom Westerholm.
“I just wanted to thank him for everything he’s done for the game,” Williams said. “I said I was thankful, because he was so impactful. He was a dude who was one of the best players in the game, a historic Boston legend, and honestly it was just good to see him in person for the first time.
“You see all the celebrities in L.A. and all this stuff, but I was more focused on Bill Russell than anybody else. Denzel was there, all those other guys, but Bill was special.”
An 11-time NBA champion through 13 seasons with the Celtics, Russell wore a Kobe Bryant jersey to the game, tweeting that he “would do anything to honor #KobeAndGianna.”
Williams scored five points in 13 minutes as the Celtics dropped the final meeting of the season with the Lakers, 114-112, though Russell didn’t stick around to see the ending, leaving midway through the fourth quarter with a tweet serving as an explanation.
This close game is not good on us old guys!!
— TheBillRussell (@RealBillRussell) February 23, 2020
“It was really cool, especially a game of that magnitude and intensity,” Williams said. “Lakers versus Celtics, something that [is] one of the biggest rivalries in sports and playing against LeBron, it was fun. It was a competitive environment. Hopefully he enjoyed it.”
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