Celtics' Grant Williams suspended one game for bumping official

Celtics forward Grant Williams has been suspended for one game without pay for an incident that took place in Monday’s game, the NBA announced today in a press release.

Williams, upset with a pair of foul calls during the fourth quarter on Monday in Chicago, was ejected from the game for bumping a referee (video link). Following his ejection, he aimed some choice language at the officials before heading to the locker room.

In Wednesday’s announcement, the NBA indicates that Williams’ suspension is for “recklessly making contact with and directing inappropriate language toward a game official.” As a result of the one-game ban, the forward will miss Friday’s game vs. Cleveland, further depleting a Boston frontcourt that’s already missing Robert Williams and Danilo Gallinari.

In his first four games this season, Grant Williams is averaging a career-high 9.5 points and 4.3 rebounds in 24.8 minutes per contest, with a scorching shooting line of .706/.667/.857.

According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (via Twitter), Williams will lose $29,698 as a result of the suspension. That’s 1/145th of his 2022-23 salary (approximately $4.3M). The Celtics will also receive a tax variance credit for $14,849, half the amount of Williams’ lost salary, Marks notes.