Why Grant Williams was “excited” when the Celtics won the title last season

Williams was actually at TD Garden the night the Celtics won Game 5 of the NBA Finals, joining Hornets teammates Brandon Miller and Mark Williams. They were there to support Charles Lee, who finished his stint as an assistant coach with the Celtics before becoming head coach of the Hornets.

Williams, however, stopped at the celebration in the Celtics' locker room. As he watched his former teammates celebrate, there was one particular teammate Williams was most excited about.

“The smile on (Jaylen Brown’s) face, (Jayson Tatum’s) face, (Al Horford’s) face — that’s the one person I wanted it for the most,” Williams said. “I love Derrick (White) and those guys, but Al, he’s my vet. He and Blake Griffin were a huge help to me last year in Boston, just making sure my mind and mental space were in good shape. I will always be grateful to him and his family.”

Williams also said he enjoyed the Finals clash between the two teams he used to play for, even though the Mavericks traded him midway through the 2023-24 season and gained a lead in the standings after that trade.

“It was just a special, unique opportunity to be a part of it,” Williams said. “It was pretty cool to see both teams compete and both guys, whether it was Luka (Doncic) and that group or JT and that group, compete at a high level. As a basketball fan and friend of both teams, you couldn't ask for anything more. That was great.”

Last season's championship win certainly seemed a long time coming for the Celtics, especially for Tatum and Brown. The Star Wings had led Boston to the Eastern Conference finals in four of the previous six seasons and reached that round in three of the four seasons Williams played with the team.

The closest the Celtics came to a title during that time was in 2022, when they lost to the Warriors in the NBA Finals. Williams admitted the Celtics are better equipped to win it all in 2024 than they were in 2022.

“I think their offense was significantly better than ours the year we got to the Finals,” Williams said. “I think that’s what stalled us in this finals run. Under Ime (Udoka)'s team, we did a great job guarding and defending, but I think we still don't understand what it takes to win in the final. We saw with this team that they just played a little more freely, with a little more passing than isolation, than we did in the finals series against the Warriors.

“JT and JB didn’t feel like they had to do it alone. They had a good group around them with Jrue (Holiday), D White and all those guys.”

According to Williams, the Celtics' offense was better in 2024 than it was in 2022. After finishing first in offensive rating in the 2023-24 regular season, Boston posted an offensive rating of 111 in its Finals win over Dallas In the final loss to Golden State, it only achieved an offensive rating of 105.8.

Williams also praised the Celtics' coaching staff, saying Joe Mazzulla alongside Lee “did a phenomenal job game-planning for this series.”

“They had a special opportunity to capitalize on it,” Williams said. “They were playing a team in Dallas that had a lot of talented players, but the continuity that Boston had, especially being there, gave them that advantage.”