Four years into his Boston Celtics career, it's safe to say Robert Williams has taken his "Time Lord" nickname in stride. But how did the unique moniker even come to be?
The legend of Time Lord began shortly after Williams was drafted by the Celtics in 2018. The former Texas A&M big man overslept and missed his introductory conference call with the media and subsequently missed his flight to Boston. Not exactly the ideal start to his NBA career, but it was fully embraced by the diehards on "Weird Celtics Twitter."'
Why Robert Williams is Celtics' X-factor in 2023 playoffs
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Boston sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
The rabid C's fanbase didn't take Williams' tardiness to heart. Instead, they made the best of the situation by ingratiating him with a nickname that fits the "Weird Celtics Twitter" brand. Ryan Hebert (@HebertofRiffs on Twitter), a prominent "Weird Celtics Twitter" personality, is at least partly responsible for the Time Lord nickname being born.
"I'm embracing it, man," Williams told NBC Sports Boston's Chris Forsberg on the "Celtics Talk" podcast back in 2018. "I don't see a problem with it. ...
"You’ve got to be able to joke about your mistakes. I feel like once I learned from that and moved on from that I can joke about it. And if you can’t joke with yourself, there’s no getting better."
Williams has come a long way since that rookie season. In 2021-22, his first season as a full-time starter, the 24-year-old averaged 10.0 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.2 blocks through 61 games while earning Defensive Player of the Year and Most Improved Player consideration.