”I can’t accept $1,632,821” Xavier Tillman Sr is expected to leave the Boston Celtics before his contract expires…
”I can’t accept $1,632,821” Xavier Tillman Sr is expected to leave the Boston Celtics before his contract expires…
Former Spartan Xavier Tillman Sr. Makes NBA Finals with Celtics
Prior to the trade deadline this year, former Michigan State men’s basketball player Xavier Tillman Sr. was dealt from the Memphis Grizzles to the Boston Celtics.
The Grizzlies had a dismal season, finishing as the third-worst club in the Western Conference after being a contender earlier in the season. Three months later, Tillman is on his way to the NBA Finals, where he hopes to lead the Celtics to their first championship since 2008 and their 18th overall in their history.
During the regular season, Tillman appeared in 34 games for Memphis before getting traded to Boston. In a salary cap-saving move, Memphis traded Tillman to Boston for two future second-round picks. Tillman spent his first three seasons in Memphis, averaging 6.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, and almost one steal per game.
Tillman has appeared in six of the Celtics’ 14 postseason games. He has only averaged 8.3 minutes per game while averaging 1 point, 1.5 rebounds and half a steal per game. Tillman played 9 minutes in Boston’s most recent win over the Indiana Pacers, which propelled it to the championship round.
The last Michigan State second-round pick to win an NBA championship was Draymond Green, and we all know of his success in the NBA. This will mark the third time in the last four years that a Michigan State player has played in an NBA Finals. Green with the Warriors in 2022, and Bryn Forbes with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021 were the others.
Perhaps Tillman will follow in the footsteps of Green and Magic Johnson, two of the best point guards in NBA history, and become the next great Spartan to win multiple titles. But he must first obtain one.
In 2020, while attending Michigan State, Tillman averaged 13.7 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.2 steals, and 2.1 blocks per game, good enough for him to win Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.
In the NBA Finals, the Dallas Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves winner will play the Boston Celtics. At the moment, Dallas is up 3-1 in the series.
