It’s one of the best nicknames in the league right now and most people think they know the full story.
But there is more to Robert Williams III’s ‘Time Lord’ nickname than necessarily we knew.
Most people know the gist of it, he became a social media sensation for poor timekeeping soon after being drafted in 2018.
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The Celtics center overslept and missed his introductory conference call with the media and subsequently missed his flight to Boston. Not the best note for the former Texas A&M player to start his NBA career.
Celtics Twitter found it hilarious though, and the nickname stuck. But there is also another, lesser-known, part of the ‘Time Lord’ story.
“So when I when I got drafted, I missed a press conference over the phone,” Williams III told Sky Sports. “So I missed the press conference over the phone or whatever. And they start calling me ‘Time Lord’, like being late. But I got on the court playing and it was saying like, ‘Oh, he’s stopping time to go over there and block shots’, so, I can’t hate on that it was decent. I liked it. I’ve been rocking with ‘Time Lord’ ever since.”
He lived up to the additional element of his nickname in Game 1, recording four blocks to stifle the Golden State Warriors inside – as well as eight points, six rebounds and a steal.
Williams achieved NBA All-Defensive second team honours this year, and it would likely have been first team had he not suffered injuries.
“I didn’t really realise what defensive sets the coaches were putting us in [to start with] but, once I realised the role that that they were giving me I loved it, being able to just freelance and roam, to help, go block shots, help others… and I feel like me being the athlete that I am, it helped me prosper and help our team prosper.”
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The Celtics certainly prospered in Game 1, taking a 120-108 victory after a historic fourth-quarter comeback.
Game 2 is on Sunday night, once again at Chase Center, and you can watch live on Sky Sports Arena & Main Event from 12.45am and Boston cannot let up if the team hopes to follow through with their wish to leads the Celtics to a record 18th NBA title.
The NBA Finals (TV listings here) continue on Sky Sports this week, subscribe to watch the live action.