There was no missed flight or overslept conference call this time around.
Celtics coach Brad Stevens made things explicitly clear when rookie Robert Williams was a last-minute scratch from Thursday’s G-League assignment with the Maine Red Claws: “He’s excused. He is excused. He’s excused by all of us to attend to a personal matter.” The reasoning behind the absence briefly remained a mystery, but even the stoic coach couldn’t wipe a suspicious grin off of his face.
So where had Williams gone?
An Instagram post later night explained everything.
Williams had flown back to Texas, where he attended college, for the birth of his baby girl, Ava.