NBA Rumors: Grant Williams Apologized to Jayson Tatum for Hard Foul in Celtics Win | News, scores, highlights, stats and rumors

Charlotte Hornets forward Grant Williams has reportedly apologized to Jayson Tatum for committing a foul on his former teammate.

According to Gary Washburn of The Boston SphereWilliams and Tatum had a conversation Friday after the Boston Celtics’ 113-103 win over the Hornets.

“According to an NBA source, the two spoke after Friday’s game, with Williams apologizing for the harsh foul,” Washburn wrote. “Tatum initially did not want to speak to reporters for the second night in a row; he eventually agreed, but did not want to talk about Williams or the incident.”

After the Celtics pulled away in the fourth quarter to take a nine-point lead with about two minutes left, Williams collided with Tatum in transition, sending the five-time All-Star to the floor. Tatum was not injured, but Williams received a flagrant 2 foul and was ejected from the game.

While Tatum declined to comment on the action, Celtics teammate Jaylen Brown did not view the foul as unintentional.

“He hit him like it was a football game,” Brown told the Associated Press (h/t ESPN). “Kind of like Ray Lewis coming through the middle or something. It is what it is. Grant knows better.’

Williams and Tatum spent four years together in Boston, from the team’s 2019-2020 season through the team’s 2022-2023 season. Both players helped the Celtics reach the NBA Finals in 2022.

Although emotions appeared to be high during Boston’s win over Charlotte, Williams made sure to express remorse to his former teammate for committing the blatant foul after the final buzzer sounded.