Grant Williams: Being professional isn’t just about when you’re having success
Last season, new Dallas Mavericks forward Grant Williams had an inconsistent role with the Boston Celtics and fell out of the rotation for long periods of time in the regular season and playoffs, even though he had performed well, shooting 39.5% from beyond the arc and being a reliable defender all the while.
This caused the Charlotte native frustration, and he reacted in an undisclosed and uncharacteristically unprofessional manner. “I had a two-week span of being unprofessional, which I look back on and I’m disappointed in myself with,” explained Williams to the Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach in a recent article.
“I had to be able to realize that being professional isn’t just about when you’re having success. It’s also about your darkest days,” he added, sharing that despite that stretch, it didn’t affect his bond with Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla.
“It’s like when you leave college, you always think, ‘Will I be able to go back and see those faces again?’” asked Williams. https://t.co/H8feND4nPa
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) July 15, 2023
“The thing is, professionally you can always have different opinions, different outlooks about yourself and the team,” he suggested. “But personally, that bond never changes … I always will love him as a friend.”
“Although it may not have gone how we both expected this season, we still have a ton of respect for one another. So I’ll always speak highly of him because he deserves it. He’s a good man and a good coach.”
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