Coming off another season derailed by injury, Williams presents as one of the more unpredictable fantasy assets going around. To this point, he has played fewer than 60 games in all but one season, tallying 41 total appearances across the last two years. Knee surgery in November put an end to his 2023-24 campaign, and potentially his career in Portland. Already penciled in as the backup behind Deandre Ayton, Williams now has to battle Donovan Clingan for playing time. Of the three center options, none possess a reliable offensive game beyond the painted area, meaning sharing the court is going to be next to impossible. At this point, a trade might be the only way for Williams to move into a role in which he has a chance of putting up fantasy value. Both Sacramento and New Orleans are rumored to have interest in Williams, although that is just speculation at this point. Unless we get word he is on the move or some clarity regarding his role in Portland, there is no reason to consider him an asset outside of very deep leagues. Read Past Outlooks
$Signed a four-year, $48 million contract extension with the Celtics in August of 2021. Traded to the Trail Blazers in October of 2023.
Personal Bio/PreCareer Summary
Robert Lee Williams III was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, in 1997. He's the son of Robert and Tundra Williams and has one sister, Brittanni. He emerged as a top recruit while playing for coach Ron Meikle at North Caddo High School in Vivian, Louisiana. He came out of high school as the No. 1 ranked recruit in the state.
In college at Texas A&M, Williams majored in recreation, park and tourism science. During Williams' rookie seaon, Celtics fans nicknamed Williams the "Time Lord," though GM Danny Ainge preferred "Lob." Follow the big shot blocker via @williams.lll on Instagram and @rob_williamsIII on twitter. Robert Williams played two seasons at Texas A&M before joining the Celtics. For both seasons, Williams was paired with fellow big man Tyler Davis, appearing together in unique two-center lineups for the Aggies. During Williams' freshman season (2016-17), the Aggie started 17 of 31 games, averaging 11.9 points, 8.2 boards and an impressive 2.5 blocks per contest. Williams earned SEC Defensive Player of the Year and Second Team All-SEC accolades. As a sophomore, Williams would start 23 of 30 games, increasing his rebounding (9.2 per game) and his blocks (2.6 per contest). The big man's solid contributions helped Texas A&M reach the Sweet 16 in the 2018 NCAA Tournament. Williams ended his sophomore year by garnering Co-SEC Defensive Player of the Year honors as well as USBWA All-District VII accolades.
ANALYSIS The Trail Blazers drafted Deandre Ayton's backup in Donovan Clingan this summer, so Williams no longer makes a ton of sense on the Portland roster. He will need to show he's healthy before another team will be willing to take the plunge on the oft-injured big man, but getting out of Portland could be good for his fantasy outlook. The Pelicans have also been rumored to be interested in acquiring the Time Lord, and that would be an excellent landing spot for him in terms of fantasy hoops, but to be clear, nothing is imminent on the Williams trade front.
2023 NBA Per Game Split Stats - Starting/Off Bench
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2023 NBA Per Game Split Stats - Days Rest
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2023 NBA Per Game Split Stats - Vs Opp
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2023 NBA Per Game Split Stats - By Result
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Advanced Stats
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Stat Review
How does Robert Williams compare to other players?
This section compares his stats with all players from the previous three seasons (minimum 200 minutes played)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.
True Shooting %
An advanced statistic that measures a player's efficiency at shooting the ball that takes field goal percentage, free throw percentage, and three point percentage into account.
Effective Field Goal %
A statistic that adjusts field goal percentage to account for the fact that three-point field goals count for three points while field goals only count for two points.
3-Point Attempt Rate
Percentage of field goal attempts from three point range.
Free Throw Rate
Number of free throw attempts per field goal attempt.
Offensive Rebound %
An estimate of the percentage of available offensive rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
Defensive Rebound %
An estimate of the percentage of available defensive rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
Total Rebound %
An estimate of the percentage of available rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
Assist %
An estimate of the percentage of teammate field goals a player assisted while they were on the floor.
Steal %
An estimate of the percentage of opponent possessions that end with a steal by the player while they were on the floor.
Block %
An estimate of the percentage of opponent two-point field goal attempts blocked by the player while they were on the floor.
Turnover %
An estimate of turnovers committed per 100 plays.
Usage %
An estimate of the percentage of team plays used by a player while they were on the floor.
Fantasy Points Per Game
NBA Fantasy Points Per Game.
Fantasy Points Per Minute
NBA Fantasy Points Per Minute.
True Shooting %
68.4%
Effective Field Goal %
65.4%
3-Point Attempt Rate
0.0%
Free Throw Rate
34.6%
Offensive Rebound %
9.8%
Defensive Rebound %
27.0%
Total Rebound %
17.9%
Assist %
6.3%
Steal %
2.6%
Block %
5.3%
Turnover %
16.6%
Usage %
0.0%
Fantasy Points Per Game
21.5
Fantasy Points Per Minute
1.1
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Total
Per Game
Per 36
NBA Historical Fantasy Stats
How are these ratings calculated?
Our historical fantasy ratings are standard scores calculated using 8-Category settings with 12 teams and 13 players per team.
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NBA Per Game Historical Fantasy Stats
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NBA Per 36 Historical Fantasy Stats
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Historical ADP
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Trail Blazers Depth Chart
Our full team depth charts are reserved for RotoWire subscribers.
Average Fantasy Points are determined when Robert Williams was active vs. non-active during the season. Click here to view average fantasy points for a different time period.
Minutes
FanDuel
DraftKings
Yahoo
FantasyDraft
Head2Head
Sorare
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
In 2022-23, the injury bug once again pestered Williams. The dynamic rim protector was able to play in only 35 games. A September arthroscopic procedure on his left knee delayed Time Lord's season debut to Dec. 16. Then a hamstring injury forced him to miss eight straight games in March. On the positive, he did appear in all of Boston's 20 playoff games. Williams' fragility and Al Horford's advanced age forced the Celtics this summer to trade guard Marcus Smart for big man Kristaps Porzingis. Boston quickly added two additional years to Porzingis' contract, so he is clearly a priority for the franchise. Williams, who still had three years on his agreement, was expendable after the Porzingis trade and was packaged with Malcolm Brogdon in a deal to Portland that landed Jrue Holiday in Boston. The Trail Blazers also acquired Deandre Ayton this offseason and parted ways with Jusuf Nurkic and Drew Eubanks, so Williams and Ayton are slated to form a timeshare. When healthy, Williams is a shot-blocking and rebounding machine. But, unfortunately, he's averaged only 42 games played per season over his five-year NBA career. It seems unlikely that Williams will return to the 29.6 minutes per game he averaged in 2021-22 when he experienced career highs in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots.
After three modest seasons in Boston, Robert "Time Lord" Williams finally broke out in 2021-22. The human pogo stick exploded for 10.0 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game last season -- all career highs. Williams' 134 total blocks were good for third in the Association. He also started all 61 games in which he appeared and added 2.0 dimes per contest while shooting a delightful 73.6 percent from the field. Add respectable free throw shooting, and Williams ranked 24th overall in nine-category rotisserie leagues. With Daniel Theis now in Indiana, Williams could see a slight bump in the 29.6 minutes per contest he played last season. Considering fellow big Al Horford is 36 years old, the C's seem thin at the four and five. There is room for improvement as Williams enters his age 25 season. However, injury woes have dampened his total impact early in his young career. That's continued to start this season, as he underwent knee surgery in September that may cost him some games to start the year.
For the first time in his career, Williams enters the 2021-22 season with the chance to lead the team in center minutes. The three-year veteran has fought through maturity issues and nagging injuries to finally, hopefully, dominate the key for Boston. Williams flashed brief displays of brilliance in 2020-21. For instance, in early April, he posted 20 points, nine boards, eight dimes and two blocks in a win over woeful Houston. In Game 1 of the playoffs versus the Nets, Williams delivered 11 points, nine boards and nine eye-popping blocks. His per-36-minutes line last season was 15.2 points, 13.1 boards and 3.3 blocks. The Celtics would be very happy to receive a hearty fraction of that production. With Daniel Theis in Chicago and Tristan Thompson in Sacramento, the starting center spot is wide open. Sure, Boston brought back 35-year-old Al Horford. But after rough stints in Philly and OKC, it's possible he Big Al will be happy to be a mentor. At his presser this summer, Horford said about Williams "I'm going to be in his ear, and we are going to be figuring things out together." The main thing holding Williams back is his health. Injuries forced the big center to play in only 32 games his rookie year, 29 games in 2019-20 and 52 of 72 games in 2020-21. If Williams can avoid the injury bug, he should experience a break out season in 2021-22.
During the 2019-20 season, The Timelord did not experience the breakout season some expected. A hip injury restricted Williams to only 29 games last season. And now the 23-year-old seems once again stuck at third in the Boston center pecking order, behind last year's starter Daniel Theis and newly signed Tristan Thompson. Thompson, in particular, seems like an upgrade over last year's back-up, Enes Kanter. Should Thompson shine now that he's back with a contender, he could eat into Williams' minutes. Boston would probably be very happy to see Williams simply stay healthy for a full season - he only appeared in 32 games as a rookie in 2018-19. Timelord's athletic defensive approach is unquestioned and valued by head coach Brad Stevens. But Williams will probably need injuries to occur to Theis or Thompson for the Texas product to see significant minutes.
Williams' rookie season was a bit of a roller coaster. Championship aspirations at the start of Boston's season heavily implied that Williams would not see much floor time. Then, when the C's were ready to experiment with Williams, back issues hampered his availability. The result was only 32 NBA games and five G League appearances with the Maine Red Claws. At both levels, the body of work was erratic. At one moment, he's effectively defending Anthony Davis or throwing down monster alley-oop jams. But shortly afterward, Williams would be woefully out of position or aimlessly chasing wild blocks instead of playing solid defense. The departure of Al Horford and Aron Baynes has certainly created an opportunity for the 21-year-old Texas product to earn more minutes at the NBA level. Newly signed Enes Kanter will surely start and play major minutes. But after Kanter, the depth chart is messy, with Williams, third-year veteran Daniel Theis and newly signed Frenchman Vincent Poirier all fighting for minutes. None of those other center options come close to Williams' potential for delivering fantastic rim protection. but all three offer better offensive skills. Expect coach Brad Stevens to change his "first center off the bench" player based on matchups. By virtue of experience, Theis will start the year as the second-string center. But expect lots of experimentation throughout the season. The Timelord will have plenty of opportunities to prove he deserves more than last season's nine minutes per game.
Maturity issues and injury concerns are the perfect cocktail for slipping in the draft, and it’s clear both issues were a factor in Williams dropping all the way to Boston with the 27th pick. The good news is the Celtics don't need Williams to perform right out of the gate. Even if the the Texas A&M product were ready to contribute at the NBA level, he'd be hard-pressed to find minutes on most nights given the Celtics' borderline-laughable level of overall depth. All signs point to Williams essentially redshirting as a rookie and spending the bulk of his time with the Maine Red Claws of the G League. Given his intriguing combination of size and athleticism, Williams is somewhat of an interesting long-term prospect, but he's a long way from being ready to play meaningful NBA minutes.
More Fantasy News
Undergoes successful surgery
CPortland Trail Blazers
Knee
November 13, 2023
Williams underwent successful surgery Monday to reconstruct a torn ligament in his right knee after he sustained a patellar dislocation Nov. 5. He's expected to make a full recovery ahead of the 2024-25 campaign.
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Requires season-ending surgery
CPortland Trail Blazers
Knee
November 10, 2023
Williams (knee) is expected to undergo season-ending surgery in the coming days, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports.
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Facing multi-month absence
CPortland Trail Blazers
Knee
November 6, 2023
Williams will require surgery to address bone and ligament damage to his right kneecap, and the center could be sidelined for anywhere from 2-to-3 months to the rest of the season, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports.
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Slated for surgery
CPortland Trail Blazers
Knee
November 6, 2023
Williams (knee) will need surgery, but it's unclear what kind of procedure is necessary or how long he'll be sidelined, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports.
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Won't return Sunday
CPortland Trail Blazers
Knee
November 5, 2023
Williams won't return to Sunday's game against the Grizzlies due to a right knee injury.
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ANALYSIS As things stand now, the Knicks are set to open the season with Mitchell Robinson as their starting center, while Precious Achiuwa and Jericho Sims are the potential backups. That's an area where the Knicks could use an upgrade. While they're not likely to add another center before the start of the campaign, adding another big man as the season progresses could quickly become a priority. Considering Williams could end up being the third-string center at Portland behind Deandre Ayton and Donovan Clingan, he could be had for a reasonably decent haul. Williams would solidify the team's depth down low.