What a night for Xavier Tillman. The former Spartans and Grizzlies rookie showed out in a big way last night in Memphis’ win over the Golden State Warriors in the playoff play-in game.
Tillman, who was a second-round pick, showed why that was probably an oversight, and he also opened a lot of eyes around the hard-to-impress NBA Twitter community.
Here are some of the best reactions from NBA Twitter as they watched Tillman’s breakout night:
This is a real coming out party for Xavier Tillman on a national stage. Playing phenomenal defense, even more so when you consider that he's a rookie.
— Peter Edmiston (@peteredmiston) May 22, 2021
Still don't understand how Xavier Tillman fell to the 35th pick. pic.twitter.com/6n45mK8wiZ
— Brandon Simberg (@BrandonSimberg) May 22, 2021
Do the Warriors win the Title with Xavier Tillman as their center?
— Dave DuFour (@DaveDuFourNBA) May 22, 2021
Xavier Tillman. Game of a lifetime.
— Grizzaholics (@Grizzaholics) May 22, 2021
Xavier Tillman has been absolutely flawless defensively in the first half.
— Nate Duncan (@NateDuncanNBA) May 22, 2021
Xavier Tillman came in and is ready for the moment pic.twitter.com/9HdcjnzCHS
— Ahmed🇸🇴/J Cole dropped a good album (@big_business_) May 22, 2021
Xavier Tillman Sr. playing strong and important minutes in a postseason game as a rookie >>>>>>>>>>>>
— ˢᵉᵒᵘˡʲᵃᵃ (@Seouljaa) May 22, 2021
We need to give Xavier Tillman his flowers. Had the biggest game of his life and came through when it absolutely mattered most.
— Nathan Chester (@NathanChester24) May 22, 2021
I don't tweet anymore, but just wanted to say that Xavier Tillman and Kyle Anderson make a lovely frontcourt pair.
— Danny Chau (@dannychau) May 22, 2021
xavier tillman playing in the final minute of a playoff game in year one, huh, who could have seen that coming
— Ben Pfeifer (@Ben_Pfeifer_) May 22, 2021
Xavier Tillman is out-Draymond-Green-ing Draymond Green.
— Tas Melas (@TasMelas) May 22, 2021
i have 10k that says you couldn’t finish one floater against that Xavier Tillman defense in ten tries.
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) May 22, 2021
Xavier Tillman is so so good defensively, and he is only a rookie. How many bugs struggle coming out of college on the defensive end? So, so many! Grizzlies drafted a gem in X.
— Grizzly Bear Blues (@sbnGrizzlies) May 16, 2021
Xavier Tillman SR. !! Still not over that shot by X!!
— Meghan Triplett (@Meghan_Triplett) May 22, 2021
