Amari Williams: Boston Celtics’ British big man ‘ready’ for Detroit reunion after career-defining moment

As a new NBA season begins, Great Britain's Amari Williams is hoping to emulate two of his Boston Celtics team-mates and secure a lasting NBA career.

Williams' two-way contract allows him to feature for both Boston and the Maine Celtics, the NBA franchise's development affiliate in the G-League.

His Celtics team-mate Luka Garza was the 52nd pick out of 60 in the 2021 draft, and earned a standard NBA contract by way of a two-way deal at Minnesota. Fellow centre Neemias Queta went 39th in the same draft, arrived in Boston on a two-way and was promoted to a multi-year standard contract in April 2024. In July, he signed a four-year extension worth $56m (£42.3m) that runs to 2031.

Now the challenge is for Williams to follow suit and make his place in the NBA permanent, with his first opportunity coming when Boston face the Detroit Pistons in their opening game on Tuesday, live on Sky Sports from 8pm.

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The Brit was the 46th pick in the 2025 draft and has already experienced that first promotion. Boston converted his original two-way deal into a standard NBA contract in February, only for the 24-year-old to return to a two-way arrangement in July.

The Nottingham centre, the first British-born player in Celtics history, has been studying both Garza and Queta.

"[Garza and Queta] have been there before me. They both started on the two-way and they've taken me under their wing, always giving me words of encouragement or telling me what to do in situations," Williams exclusively told Sky Sports.

"Having guys like that who care about me and help me any way they can has definitely helped me a lot over the past year."

The night Williams ended Detroit's run

Williams has already proved he can make an impact at NBA level, with his most significant moment coming against the same opponent Boston faces on opening night.

Last November, the centre was brought up from Maine without warning and played a career-high 15 minutes against a Detroit team riding a franchise record-equalling 13-game winning streak.

With 4.4 seconds left and Boston a point up, Pistons superstar Cade Cunningham missed a free throw that would have tied the game. Williams got the first hand on the ball and tipped it to Payton Pritchard, who gathered the rebound before making two free throws at the other end.

Detroit's 13-game winning streak was over.

"I didn't have any idea I was gonna play, to be honest," Williams told CelticsBlog afterwards.

Williams, who represented Great Britain in EuroBasket pre-qualifiers in August, knows opportunities can arrive without warning.

"With those things it's never determined. There's always opportunities available and whether they call you up or not, you just got to be ready for that moment," he said.

A crowded frontcourt to break into

Williams faces considerable competition for minutes in Boston, who have acquired significant reinforcement in his position over the summer.

Mitchell Robinson arrived from NBA champions New York on a three-year deal worth $47.4m to share the middle with Queta, while Garza started Game 7 of Boston's first-round playoff defeat by Philadelphia.

Chris Cenac Jr, a 6ft 11in forward and center, was the 27th pick in June's draft.

"To be honest, it's just about learning from those guys," Williams said. "I feel like I've got a great set of bigs ahead of me who are experienced in the league and have had the same kind of pathway as me.

"I look up to all those guys. All those guys are older than me, more experienced.

"So I'm not really sure about the impact part, but for me it's just about learning and being ready for opportunity when it comes."

Jayson Tatum and Paul George can both operate at power forward, with Sam Hauser and Jordan Walsh also competing for minutes. Dillon Mitchell provides another option on a two-way contract.

Williams will likely need to impress for Maine again to earn further opportunities with Boston, but Queta offers proof that patience can pay off.

The Portuguese centre spent two seasons on the bench for the Celtics before starting 75 of his 76 appearances last term, averaging 10.2 points and 8.4 rebounds while shooting a franchise-record 65.3 per cent from the field.

He was in contention for the Most Improved Player award for his performances in what was his fifth NBA season.

The number that sets Williams apart

Williams has a skillset that distinguishes him from many players of his size.

Across 28 G League games he averaged 15.8 points, 10.9 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.8 blocks in a little over 29 minutes a night.

The assist number stands out. Almost five a game from a 6ft 11in center is an impressive return and helps explain why Boston have highlighted his passing ability.

He has produced standout individual performances, too.

On January 3, Williams scored 33 points and grabbed 16 rebounds against Capital City. A month later, he hit an overtime game-winner at Sioux Falls.

Through his first 23 G League appearances, he scores at an impressive 61.3 per cent from the field - well above average for players in his position.

He carried that form into the summer, scoring a game-high 23 points from nine field-goal attempts, alongside 13 rebounds and two blocks, in Boston's Summer League opening victory over Toronto.

"We won that game, and it was a very close game, we won in overtime," he said. "So having that game gave us that confidence, and it being the first one, it definitely set the tone for the rest of the games for us.

"I feel like it went well. We had a good record – I think it was three and one. So to have a winning record again is something we kind of took pride in."

Nottingham, Drexel and a family decision

Williams' route to the NBA was unusual, especially for a British player.

He left Nottingham at 16 and spent four seasons at Drexel University, where he was named Colonial Athletic Association Defensive Player of the Year three times between 2022 and 2024.

He then moved to Kentucky, starting all 36 games and averaging 10.9 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.2 blocks.

He also finished with more assists than any seven-footer in the programme's history, according to Boston's official account of his college career.

The Nottingham Forest fan remains proud of his roots and the basketball community that helped him develop.

"I feel like Nottingham is an underrated city," he said. "We have the Wildcats arena, which is essentially for the women's league. We have the Nottingham Hoods. We had teams around, and at the time we had Nottingham Nova, that's who I started playing for.

"It was one of the best teams for a while, always a top four in the country. Having that around me when I was growing up, it was easy to get into the game and have guys who I looked up to and inspired me to play.

"Once it came to my age groups, I felt like I was one of the better players in the country, and it just took off from there."

Williams has already made the journey from Nottingham to the NBA and from a two-way contract to a standard deal.

As Boston begin their new campaign against Detroit, the next challenge is to establish himself there for good.

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(c) Sky Sports 2026: Amari Williams: Boston Celtics’ British big man ‘ready’ for Detroit reunion after career-defining moment