A lot’s been made of Robert Williams III’s new nickname, the “Time Lord.”
But how does the Boston Celtics rookie feel about the somewhat self-deprecating moniker?
The “Time Lord,” coined by Ryan Hebert of Weird Celtics Twitter, is a reference to Williams’ tardiness issues during the first days (like, literally the first day) of his NBA career. So, it’s not a surprise that Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge would prefer the Texas A&M product take on a different nickname, such as “Lob Williams.”
But the “Time Lord” train may be unstoppable at this point. In addition to Celtics fans clearly loving it, Connecticut watchmaker Timex reached out to Williams on Friday, apparently suggesting a partnership.
Williams was asked about the increasingly silly hysteria ahead of Friday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks. And although the 21-year-old forward sides with his boss, he’s also not ready to scoff at the potential monetary benefits of his new nickname.
Check out his reaction in the video below:
As annoying as this storyline may be for both Ainge and Williams, it’s ultimately a good thing.
Nicknames, more often than not, only are given when a player does something to warrant hype. And after appearing in just nine of his team’s first 25 games and only averaging 3.7 minutes per game when he did play, Williams hardly was worthy of buzz, let alone a nickname.
But everything changed Dec. 10.
With Al Horford on the shelf, Williams was summoned from the G League and responded by blocking Anthony Davis twice while scoring seven points and pulling down 11 rebounds in 25.5 minutes in Boston’s win over the New Orleans Pelicans. Williams followed up his breakout performance by logging six points, six rebounds and two blocks in over 14 minutes Wednesday against the Washington Wizards, and two points, five rebounds and five blocks Friday in over 16 minutes against the Hawks.
And thus, the “Time Lord” was born.
There’s no telling whether “Time Lord,” “Lob Williams” or something different, such as “Swat Williams” ultimately will stick. But Williams’ impressive play over the last week — coupled with Horford’s extended absence — likely has convinced Boston to keep him around, so the conversation isn’t going away anytime soon.
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