It took a while for Grant Williams to get his Boston Celtics teammates on board, but it seems they've finally embraced his self-proclaimed "Batman" nickname.
Jaylen Brown first mentioned Williams' "Batman" moniker following the C's win over the Denver Nuggets on March 20. Brown praised Williams' defense on reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, who's often referred to as "The Joker."
"Grant did a great job," Brown said of Williams' defense on Jokic. "He wanted me to tell the media he wants his nickname to be Batman. I said, 'I don’t know about that one Grant.'"
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Despite Brown's disapproval, Williams' nickname quickly became a meme on Celtics Twitter. And once Celtics Twitter gains momentum with a nickname, as we witnessed with Robert "Time Lord" Williams, the nickname is all but official.
One night after becoming "Batman," Williams starred in a starting role vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder. The 23-year-old notched career-highs in points (20, including 10 in the first quarter) and rebounds (10).
During his postgame press conference, he compared himself and his teammates to Marvel superheroes (not including DC Comics' Batman, of course). He identified himself as Spider-Man, but that just didn't have the same ring to it as Batman. And thus, the Batman nickname was born.