Today in Boston Celtics history, Robert Williams III was born in Shreveport, Louisiana in 1997, attending North Caddo High School in nearby Vivian, Louisiana.
A consensus four-star recruit out of high school, Timelord — as Williams is often called — played his college basketball with the Texas A&M Aggies, and twice won the Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Year award in his two seasons with that team. He was taken by the Celtics with the 27th overall pick of the 2018 NBA draft slipping because of concerns over his health.
An issue that has indeed bothered him since, though less each season he has been in the league.
Birthdays
It is also the birthday of his former teammate Vincent Poirier, born this day in 1993 in Clamart, France. A relative latecomer to the sport at age 17, he gradually worked his way up the ladder of competitive French basketball until he parlayed that into a Summer League invite for the Orlando Magic in 2016.
Poirier would sign with Baskonia of the Euroleague in 2017, and lead that league in rebounding in its 2018-19 season, good enough to land him a deal with the Celtics in 2019. Ultimately, he would never find his legs at the NBA level and was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder in November 2020. He averaged 1.9 points and 2 rebounds per game with the team.
Rest in Peace
Today is also the date of Celtics floor general Frank Scolari passing in 2002. Born in San Francisco in 1922, Scolari played collegiately with his hometown USF before joining the (now defunct) Washington Capitals.
Scolari would play stints with that team, the (then) Syracuse Nationals (now, Philadelphia 76ers), the (now defunct) Baltimore Bullets, and the (then) Fort Wayne (now, Detroit) Pistons before coming to Boston via trade in 1954. The Californian played 59 games with the team before retiring as a player, averaging 3.2 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game.
Debuts
It is also the date that both former Celtic forward Semi Ojeleye and current Boston star swingman Jayson Tatum made their NBA debuts in a 102-99 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. It just so happened to be the contest in which teammate Gordon Hayward devastated his ankle in a freak accident.
Tatum put up 14 points and 10 rebounds in Hayward’s absence for an impressive debut. Ojeleye had a less auspicious start to his career, going scoreless in nearly 9 minutes of floor time, with two field-goal attempts.
Jersey retirements
Finally, it is also the date that the Celtics honored original team owner Walter Brown with a jersey retirement ceremony, sending No. 1 into the rafters in his honor.
Brown was well-loved by his players and front office, and was so honored after passing away unexpectedly earlier in 1964.
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