Golden State Warriors’ very own Draymond Green, known as much for his basketball IQ as for his, let’s say, unfiltered commentary, had a field day dissecting the dramatic late-game antics between Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum and his former teammate, Grant Williams. In the Celtics’ 124-109 win over the Charlotte Hornets, Williams decided it was time to add a little contact sport into the NBA mix by blindsiding Tatum in what some have dubbed the “NFL crossover play of the week.”
As Tatum pushed the ball up in a late-game fast break, Williams saw an opportunity—though not for defense as we know it. No, Williams came barreling in like a linebacker, laying Tatum out with the kind of hit usually reserved for Sundays in the fall. The referees weren’t amused, swiftly issuing a flagrant foul penalty 2, which meant an early exit for Williams. In case there was any doubt about the refs’ call, Green, always game for play-by-play commentary, took to social media to break it down.
“Grant Williams saying it’s not intentional fouling JT like that is mad wild. And he smiling about it,” Green tweeted, adding a dash of classic Draymond sarcasm. To those imagining Williams throwing a casual, friendly bump at an old buddy, Green had other ideas. In a string of posts on X (formerly Twitter), he pointed out the eyebrow-raising “blindside hit” and dropped his diagnosis of Williams: “Either zero awareness or he a goofy… and both make you a goofy… goofy.”
It’s not like Green, a four-time champion, hasn’t seen or felt Williams’ physicality himself. He faced both Tatum and Williams in the 2022 NBA Finals, so if anyone knows the difference between a real foul and a “mistake,” it’s Dray.
Not stopping there, Green delved into what he thought might have been Williams’ hidden motive. “He mad at JT about something lol… 💍😮 He was supposed to keep him in Boston lol. JT got a ring and dude let his frustrations out about it,” Green tweeted, alluding to Williams’ rather turbulent offseason. The Celtics had traded Williams to the Dallas Mavericks in 2023, who then dealt him to the Hornets in a midseason switch, and now, Green hints, Williams might be looking to remind everyone he’s still around—even if he has to do it linebacker style.
But Green wasn’t the only one left scratching his head. Celtics’ forward Jaylen Brown, one of Tatum’s closest teammates, was equally perplexed by Williams’ sudden “conversion to football.” Postgame, Brown didn’t hold back: “He hit him like it was a football play. Like, Ray Lewis coming across the middle or something. It is what it is. Grant know better than that.” Ouch. Ray Lewis comparisons? That’s one way to underline a foul.
Brown added that he thought Tatum and Williams were friends from their Boston days, though after that “tackle,” friendship might be up for re-evaluation. “I thought JT and Grant was friends. I guess not,” he said, clearly surprised at Williams’ choice of endgame strategy.
As fate would have it, the Celtics and Hornets will meet again tomorrow night in Charlotte. No word on whether Williams has studied up on NBA rules for “legal” defense, but here’s hoping the Hornets’ big man remembers that basketball is a non-contact sport—mostly. And if not, well, Draymond Green will surely have some new material ready.
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