Grant Williams Recalls Clipboard Incident in Celtics Pre-Draft Workout

The forward revealed a humorous moment from his pre-draft workout with the Celtics in 2019.

Published on Mar. 10, 2026

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Grant Williams, who was drafted by the Boston Celtics in 2019, recently recounted a funny incident that occurred during his pre-draft workout with the team. Williams said he took the clipboard from the coach leading the workout to draw up a play, which ultimately worked, but he was later told by another coach that he shouldn't have done that. Williams also sprained his ankle during the workout but still impressed the Celtics enough to be selected 22nd overall.

Why it matters

The story provides an amusing behind-the-scenes look at the pre-draft process and highlights Williams' confidence and willingness to take an active role, even if it went against typical protocol. It also shows the Celtics' emphasis on respecting the coaching staff, something that was important to the team during Kyrie Irving's tenure.

The details

During the pre-draft workout, Williams was participating in a drill with Brandon Clarke when the coach, Tony Dobbins, drew up a play that had Williams in the dunker spot instead of the corner, where Williams felt he would be more effective. Williams then took the clipboard from Dobbins, erased the play, and redrew it with himself in the corner. Later, when Dobbins was again drawing up a play, Williams grabbed the clipboard from him, but that play didn't work as well. Despite the clipboard incidents and spraining his ankle, Williams believes those actions may have actually helped him get drafted by the Celtics.

  • In the summer of 2019, Grant Williams was participating in pre-draft workouts with NBA teams.
  • During one of those workouts with the Boston Celtics, the clipboard incidents occurred.

The players

Grant Williams

A forward who was drafted 22nd overall by the Boston Celtics in 2019 and played four seasons with the team before being traded to the Dallas Mavericks.

Tony Dobbins

A video coordinator for the Boston Celtics at the time of Williams' pre-draft workout, who was leading the session.

Jay Larranaga

A Celtics assistant coach who pulled Williams aside after the workout to tell him he shouldn't have taken the clipboard from the coach.

Kyrie Irving

The former Celtics star who had also previously taken a clipboard from head coach Brad Stevens, according to Williams.

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What they’re saying

“Boston workout... I'm in the workout. Eric Pascal, me, and Brandon Clarke. Tony Dobbins was a video coordinator at the time. Wasn't an assistant yet. Tony's leading the workout. Tony's like at the clipboard, he's like, 'Yeah, like thinking about the play to draw up. And he drew up the play and he had Brandon Clarke in the corner and me on a dunker.' I was like, 'Yo, like I kind of touched the clipboard.' I was like, 'You sure you want me in the dunker?' You'd rather have the guy with the lob threat in the dunker and me in the corner because I can shoot it. He was like, 'You're right, you're right.' So I took the clipboard, erased it, and then drew it up. So then, boom, that happens. Play works. I'm feeling good.”

— Grant Williams (Club 520 podcast)

“I'm confident. Next thing happens, they're switching everything. We need a play. Tony's kind of holding the clipboard. He's thinking about a play. I'm like, 'I got it.' Grab the clipboard from him...This is what we got to do. Ain't work. So, then after that, I'm like, all right, cool. I sprained my ankle during the workout. They're like, you don't have to run. You don't have to run. I'm like, I'm running. Got in first. And I think that's the only reason I got drafted there. Because Jay (Larranaga) afterwards... he didn't curse me out, but he pulled me aside and was like, we don't do that here. You don't take the clipboard out of a coach's hand. Because I heard that years prior, Kyrie had done that to Brad.”

— Grant Williams (Club 520 podcast)

The takeaway

Grant Williams' pre-draft workout with the Celtics provided an amusing glimpse into his confident and outgoing personality, which likely contributed to the team drafting him despite his unorthodox actions. The story also highlights the Celtics' emphasis on respecting the coaching staff, a lesson Williams learned the hard way but ultimately helped him become a valuable contributor during his four seasons in Boston.