BOSTON, MA- MARCH 27: Grant Williams #12 of the Boston Celtics holds his follow through against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second half at TD Garden on March 27, 2022 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kathryn Riley/ Getty Images)
With training camp merely weeks away, the Boston Celtics Twitter account has been posting pictures of various players practicing at the team’s facility over the past couple of days. Among them featured guard Payton Pritchard wearing his warmups like a cape. When posting the pictures, the Celtics Twitter account shouted out Grant Williams, referencing that Williams wanted his nickname to be Batman last season.
Watch out @Grant2Will, there’s a new superhero in town 🦸♂️
Williams not only took it in stride, but he played along with it, as he responded by calling Pritchard the Robin to his Batman.
Pritchard and Williams are going into their third year as teammates, as Pritchard was drafted one year after the Celtics drafted Williams. After Williams told the public he wanted to have the nickname Batman, Celtics media largely kept the nickname going throughout the rest of the 2021-22 season. Whenever Williams played well, media members were quick to superimpose Williams’ face onto Batman’s.
Grant Williams was audacious sending out Jaylen Brown to claim the Batman nickname. But in his first chance to back it up, he had his first 20-10 game of his career.
And just as it looked like the win might slip away, he swooped in to save the day. t.co/t7AMhwgDX3
When Williams made highlight reel plays, like the one below against the Brooklyn Nets, the nickname would come up again.
Turns out Batman CAN fly @Grant2Will 🙌
Williams’ self-assessed nickname as Batman stuck around for a while, so Pritchard being nicknamed Robin could very well do the same, or it could be forgotten in a short amount of time. It may all depend on how Pritchard does this season.
Celtics’ Reaction to Williams’ Nickname Request
Williams was not the one who first brought up that he wanted to be called Batman. Jaylen Brown brought it up on March 20 during a postgame press conference following a victory over Denver Nuggets, though Brown did not appear to be supportive of abiding by Grant’s request.
“He wants me to tell the media that he wants his nickname to be Batman. I said I don’t know about that one, Grant.”
Jaylen Brown on Grant Williams’ nickname: “He wants me to tell the media that he wants his nickname to be Batman, I said I don’t know about that one Grant” @FCHWPO @Grant2Will 😂
It appears Jayson Tatum shared a similar sentiment as Brown, even when Williams played well.
Jayson Tatum on Grant Williams wanting his nickname to be Batman: “Grant Williams played great tonight but I’m going to call him Grant.”
Other teammates, like Al Horford, appeared to embrace the nickname, as he crashed Williams’ post-game interview following a victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on March 21, asking if he was Batman.
“IS THIS BATMAN!?” @Al_Horford had to see it for his self 🤣
On March 24, President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens also confirmed on “Toucher and Rich” that he would not be calling Grant by the iconic superhero’s name.
Brad Stevens to @Toucherandrich: “I also will not be calling Grant (Williams) Batman.”
Williams Reflected on Nickname
During an interview with Heavy’s Jack Simone, Williams detailed the backstory of how the nickname came to be.
“It was not me who came up with it. My father actually told me it two years ago when I guarded Joker (Nikola Jokic), and I guarded him well. And he said, ‘we’re gonna call you The Batman from now on,’ goofily.”
Williams then said that it came up again when the Celtics beat the Nuggets on March 20, to which Williams then told Brown.
“And then the next season, (I) did it again. I guess I played well. And so he texted me after the game, and I basically joked with (Brown). I was like, ‘My Dad says you guys gotta call me Batman from now on,’ and then (Brown) said it to the media, and it just went from there – it stuck.”
Williams added how much he loves having that his nickname.
“It’s fun. I love it. It’s a great nickname. I’ll keep it forever if I can.
Grant Williams on his Batman nickname. #Celtics #NBA @Grant2Will