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Brad Stevens says he’s not calling Celtics’ Grant Williams ‘Batman’
The Celtics' president of basketball operations jokingly shrugged off Williams's attempt to make the nickname stick on Thursday morning.
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Celtics forward Grant Williams’s quest to rebrand himself as “Batman” finally got some play from Al Horford earlier this week after getting shot down by star teammates Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.
“Is this Batman? Batman?!” Horford pointed at Williams after the third-year forward poured in a career-best 20 points in a win against the Oklahoma City Thunder Monday.
But just when Williams thought the name was taking off, his old coach threw some cold water on it — jokingly, of course.
During his weekly appearance on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Toucher and Rich,” Celtics’ president of basketball operations Brad Stevens was asked what he thought of Williams’s new nickname.
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Suffice it to say Williams still has a little work to do before he wins Stevens over with that one.
“I too will refuse to call him ‘Batman,'” Stevens said, joining Brown and Tatum.
Williams started shopping the nickname after helping shut down Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic — commonly called “The Joker” — last Sunday. Then again, he also dubbed himself “Spider-Man” when assigning Marvel hero nicknames to the Celtics team. (Batman is a DC Comics character.)
Whatever he calls himself, he’s playing some really good basketball right now.
Though Williams had a quiet Wednesday after landing in some foul trouble, his previous two games featured double-digit scoring efforts in addition to his all-around contributions as a defender and rebounder. He has also registered a plus-minus of +10 or better in three of his last four games.
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The Celtics, meanwhile, suddenly find themselves in a three-way tie for second place in the Eastern Conference and a mere 1.5 games away from the top seed. The play of Williams (aka “Batman,” aka “Spider-Man”) has been a big part of their recent run.
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