BOSTON – Rob Williams made headlines at the start of this week for the wrong reasons. He intends to swat those headlines aside during Summer League action by showcasing the defensive skills that inspired Boston to select him 27th overall in the 2018 NBA Draft.
Williams is a shot-blocking machine and a defensive menace who won the SEC’s Defensive Player of the Year award during both of his collegiate seasons at Texas A&M. Those defensive abilities and his elite athleticism immediately popped off the court upon his arrival Monday afternoon to Summer League practice.
“I mean he was volley-ball spiking shots, and catching the ball with his elbows,” Summer League head coach Jay Larranaga said of Williams with a chuckle of disbelief.