On this day, the Boston Celtics selected one player of note in the 2018 NBA Draft, held in New York City, New York.
That player would be Texas A & M big man Robert Williams III, a rim-running, shot-blocking prospect who slid to the Celtics range and ended up being drafted by the team at No. 27 overall.
“Time Lord” — as Williams came to be called — is in his second season with Boston, and while plagued with injury, he’s still managed to show some significant growth in his passing and offensive game.
To date he’s had a career average of 3.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game with the Celtics.
It is also the anniversary of the trade that sent former Boston big man Eric Montross to the Dallas Mavericks with a draft pick in exchange for the draft assets that would become Antoine Walker and Ron Mercer.
Montross had been drafted by the Celtics with the 9th pick of the 1994 NBA Draft, and averaged 8.8 points and 6.6 rebounds per game over two seasons with Boston.
In 1950, the Celtics sold the rights of small forward George “the Golden Greek” Kaftan to the New York Knicks.
Kaftan had been drafted by Boston out of Holy Cross with the fourth overall pick of the 1949 Basketball Association of America (BAA – a precursor league to the NBA). He played for the franchise for two seasons, logging 11 points and 2.7 assists per game with the Celtics.
