Grant Williams Catches Hilarious Stray Dog in Jayson Tatum’s New Book

NBA champion and Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum just added “children’s book author” to his list of accomplishments with the release of his new book “Baby Dunks-a-Lot,” inspired by his life as a father to six-year-old Jayson “Deuce” Tatum, Jr. Co-written with Sam Apple, the book also appears to make a tongue-in-cheek reference to Tatum’s former Celtics teammate Grant Williams through a hilarious illustration.

As seen in this post by Daniel Donabedian of ClutchPoints on X, formerly Twitter, the drawing depicts Jayson Tatum blocking a shot from a player who looks like Grant Williams, with Deuce in diapers looking on. Fans may be familiar with the illustration, which is a reference to the game where Tatum blocked Williams’ jump shot attempt.

Celtics teammates

While this cartoon is purely humorous, it should also be a hit with kids who may not know who Tatum and Williams are. Likewise, Celtics fans should probably smile knowing that Tatum still fondly remembers Williams after he left the team.

Meanwhile, Apple’s team approached Tatum about writing the book two years ago, noticing his close relationship with Deuce. Like many parents, Tatum also read to his son, an experience he wanted to share with the world.

“I was really excited to share a piece of our routine and our history with the rest of the world,” Tatum said, via Analisa Novak for CBSNews.com.

Parents were also able to relate to the father and son’s routine of playing on the field and napping. Additionally, Tatum wanted his book to reflect his own experiences as an African-American growing up in the United States.

The star winger continued: “Representation was very important when creating this book. It was about being organic and showing black and brown kids that it’s possible to be in books.”

Asked about the Celtics’ title defense in 2025, Tatum also welcomed the challenge.

“Our mindset is not to win the championship again,” he said. “Let’s start again. Let’s improve every day and not skip any steps. That’s why we were successful last season.”

Team Jump

Two seasons ago, the Mavericks acquired Grant Williams in a $54 million trade after he spent his first four NBA seasons with the Celtics. However, the Mavs traded Williams to the Charlotte Hornets just months after the deal, part of a series of trades that began their upward trajectory to an NBA Finals appearance last season.

It didn’t help that Williams didn’t play up to the Mavericks’ expectations, averaging just 8.1 points and 3.6 rebounds on a mediocre 41.3% shooting percentage. With the trade, the versatile big man appears to have revitalized his career, upping his numbers to 13.9 points and 5.1 rebounds on a 50.3% shooting percentage.

Playing well on a bad team should restore Williams’ value across the league, and plenty of suitors might be willing to bet on him if the Hornets continue to flounder next season.