Grant Williams: 'It’s great to get a win for the city and play for the jersey that’s across your chest, not on your back'

Grant Williams is thrilled to be a Charlotte Hornet, the team he grew up watching and dreamed of one day playing for.

The Dallas Mavericks made his dream a reality this past Thursday, sending Williams, Seth Curry and a top-two protected first-round pick in 2027 to Charlotte in exchange for P.J. Washington. Williams made his Hornets debut in the 115-106 win over the Memphis Grizzlies Saturday, scoring 15 points and recording eight rebounds.

Williams attributed his strong debut to unselfishness before appearing to take a shot at his former team and star guard Luka Doncic.

“It’s great to get a win for the city and play for the jersey that’s across your chest, not on your back,” Williams said. “Everybody touched the ball, we trusted one another, a team that never played, practiced together, every single person seemed like they had each other’s back.”

The Mavericks acquired Williams this past offseason from the Boston Celtics as part of a three-team trade. Williams signed a four-year, $54 million deal prior to being dealt to Dallas. Williams had a career-year in 2022-23 but struggled to replicate that success in 47 games with the Mavericks this season. He posted averages of 8.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game in Dallas.

Tim MacMahon of ESPN noted on the “Hoop Collective” podcast this week that the Mavericks were desperately looking to offload Williams at the trade deadline.

“They were determined to dump him,” MacMahon said. “Not just about getting P.J. Washington. They wanted to be out of the Grant Williams business. He rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. He switched from Lukas to Tatums recently, by the way, his shoe selection.”

Hornets riding winning streak since arrival of Grant Williams

Williams now finds himself locked into a rebuild in Charlotte, a team sitting at 12-41 and 13th in the Eastern Conference standings. The Hornets have won two games in a row, however, both since Williams and Curry made their debuts.

“A lot of joy tonight,” Williams said Saturday, via The Charlotte Observer. “Building the history of the Hornets, and the Bobcats, and everything like that. I feel like I’m gonna be smiling like that every single day. Now I know what Kemba [Walker] was talking about — how much he loved the city, how much he loved to put in here. I’m trying to keep that same attitude and mentality. It’s a joy and a blessing to be here. Just being able to put this jersey on and really lead the way.

“Not only was it fun because I dunked it, but also because Miles [Bridges] made a great pass. Everyone around really wanted success; When Brandon [Miller] dunked, I was so happy that he pushed that in transition. I was like, ‘This is going to be a fun basketball team to play on.’”