Robert Williams, the Boston Celtics' first-round selection in the 2018 NBA Draft, admitted he overslept the team's originally scheduled introductory conference call Friday morning, although the team believes it was simply a miscommunication compounded by different time zones.
Williams, a projected lottery pick, did not attend the draft in New York and instead spent Thursday with family in his native Louisiana, where he watched the draft from a party at a Buffalo Wild Wings.
The Celtics snagged Williams with the No. 27 pick but ran into troubles trying to get him on the phone in the aftermath of the selection, including with Friday's 10 a.m. CST call.
Right after the draft, I actually ran to my aunt's house and went to sleep because I was so tired from everything," Williams said Friday afternoon in a call that took place an hour later than originally scheduled. "When I woke up, my sister woke me up, she said, 'You have a conference call.' "
Williams later noted that it was, "a good night's sleep after a busy two days."
The Celtics were not concerned about the missed call, in part because of the time difference. Poor audio hindered the follow-up call as Williams' phone broke up repeatedly while answering questions during a 10-minute session with reporters.
The Celtics plan to formally introduce Williams on June 29 in Boston.
Williams, an athletic 6-foot-10 big man out of Texas A&M, was ranked No. 12 on ESPN's final pre-draft big board, but there were concerns about both a knee injury and his approach to the game. Missing the initial call, accidental or otherwise, did not seemingly help dispel some of those concerns as social media had a field day with his absence.
The Celtics were deemed one of the night's winners after Williams slid to them. Williams seems to already have motivation from those that doubt him, especially after falling in the first round.
Sold it, sold it, sold it
Game 1 of the 2018 NBA Finals was a night Cleveland Cavaliers guard JR Smith would love to forget, but one person will keep the memory alive after buying the jersey Smith wore during that contest.
According to TMZ Sports, the winning bidder nabbed Smith's jersey for $23,548 on Thursday night.
With the score tied and seconds remaining in regulation of Game 1, Smith rebounded a missed free throw by Cavs guard George Hill, but instead of putting up a shot or passing the ball, Smith ran toward half court and dribbled it out.
Smith seemed to say that he thought the Cavaliers were ahead after an exasperated LeBron James demonstratively gestured toward him in a meme-worthy moment.
That game went to overtime, and Cleveland lost by 10 points before going on to get swept in the series.
Smith initially suggested that he knew the score was tied, but he later told Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today, "After thinking about it a lot obviously the last 24 hours or however many since the game was over, I can't say I was sure of anything at that point."
Although Smith's Game 1 jersey is infamous rather than a celebration of a great achievement, there is something cool about owning a piece of sports history. It falls in the category of Bill Buckner's glove from Game 6 of the 1986 World Series or kicker Scott Norwood's cleat from Super Bowl XXV where he missed a last-second field goal attempt.
Sports on 06/23/2018