This was the moment he had been dreaming of for so long, but it wasn’t just his dream. Grant Williams had passed the time playing Settlers of Catan on his Nintendo Switch throughout the evening, but the NBA Draft party with his friends and family in Charlotte was getting eerily quiet as the first round hit the 20s.



He was expecting to go somewhere between picks 25 and 35. As the Celtics’ slot approached at pick No. 22, he started getting cryptic congratulations texts. He and agent Erik Kabe jumped on the phone to figure out whether this was the moment they were waiting for. By the time Adam Silver announced his name with the Celtics’ pick at No. 22, he could barely hear it over the screams of joy.



In the midst of 30 straight minutes of hugs and tears, his grandfather Otto Johnson came to him to deliver the message he had been dreaming of ever since Grant first picked up a ball.



“‘I’m proud of you, boy, you’re going to...