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Xavier Tillman Sr. Reflects on Winning NBA Title with Boston Celtics
6/24/2024 11:20:00 AM | Men's Basketball
East Lansing, Mich. – As you walk down the stairs to the Michigan State men's basketball practice gym in the Berkowitz Complex of the Breslin Center, visitors to the building are greeted by a portrait of former Spartans who have gone on to win NBA Championships.
That portrait, as first-year assistant coach Saddi Washington tweeted last week as he went to the gym, will need to be updated for "@RookieDunker."
The reference to @RookieDunker is to former Spartan forward Xavier Tillman Sr., who was part of the Boston Celtics NBA Championship team last week. The Celtics beat the Dallas Mavericks in five games, winning the 18th world championship in franchise history.
The celebration continued on Friday morning in Boston as Tillman and his family hopped on one of the famed Duck Boats of the city for a parade with an estimated crowd of more than one million people.
"That is like a top-5 best experience of my life," Tillman told Dan Roche of WBZ-TV in Boston. "Other than the birth of my children and my wedding, that was up there. Seeing the fans, I don't think I've ever seen so much love from fans in my life. So that was pretty awesome."
Tillman was traded to the Celtics from the Memphis Grizzlies at the trade deadline in February and was a key reserve for Boston en route to a 64-18 regular season record and a run through the playoffs to the championship.
During the regular season, he appeared in 20 games, averaging 2.1 points and 2.7 rebounds. He appeared in eight playoff games, averaging 2.8 points and 1.8 rebounds, including 3 points and 4 rebound in 11 minutes during a road win in the third game of the series.
"It felt amazing, it felt amazing," Tillman told NBC Sports Boston after his performance in Game 3. "I feel like all the preparation that I've gone through, I was ready for my moment whenever it was needed. I play my game, my game is defense, my game is communication, my game is setting screens and hitting corner 3's. That's me, playing my game."
Tillman joins a list of nine Spartans have now won 17 NBA Championship titles.
"This is an organization (Boston) and a ballclub that had wanted this for so long and I felt like we were ready for this moment," Tillman said after winning the title. "This team was so talented and has so many different weapons. The only way we were able to make it this far is was for everybody to be selfless. To get a chance to win a title, win it with Boston and then to add my name to a list among some great names in Michigan State history is very special to me."
Tillman is the second former Michigan State player to win a title with the Celtics, joining Sam Vincent, who was part of the 1986 Boston team that beat the Los Angeles Lakers in six games.
The first Michigan State player to win an NBA title was Magic Johnson, who won five titles with the Lakers (1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988).
Prior to Tillman, the last former Michigan State player to win an NBA title was Draymond Green with the Golden State Warriors, beating the Celtics in 2022 for the franchise's fourth championship (2015, 2017, 2018, 2022)
Other Spartans to win NBA title include Bryn Forbes with the Milwaukee Bucks (2021), Shannon Brown with the Lakers (2009, 2010), Steve Smith and Kevin Willis, who were on the 2003 San Antonio Spurs in 2003 and Matt Steigenga with the Chicago Bulls (1997).
That portrait, as first-year assistant coach Saddi Washington tweeted last week as he went to the gym, will need to be updated for "@RookieDunker."
Well @MSU_Basketball I guess it's time to update that wall for @Rookiedunker 🏆 pic.twitter.com/MRGLCcCKfe
— Saddi Washington (@saddiwashington) June 18, 2024
The reference to @RookieDunker is to former Spartan forward Xavier Tillman Sr., who was part of the Boston Celtics NBA Championship team last week. The Celtics beat the Dallas Mavericks in five games, winning the 18th world championship in franchise history.
The celebration continued on Friday morning in Boston as Tillman and his family hopped on one of the famed Duck Boats of the city for a parade with an estimated crowd of more than one million people.
"That is like a top-5 best experience of my life," Tillman told Dan Roche of WBZ-TV in Boston. "Other than the birth of my children and my wedding, that was up there. Seeing the fans, I don't think I've ever seen so much love from fans in my life. So that was pretty awesome."
Tillman was traded to the Celtics from the Memphis Grizzlies at the trade deadline in February and was a key reserve for Boston en route to a 64-18 regular season record and a run through the playoffs to the championship.
During the regular season, he appeared in 20 games, averaging 2.1 points and 2.7 rebounds. He appeared in eight playoff games, averaging 2.8 points and 1.8 rebounds, including 3 points and 4 rebound in 11 minutes during a road win in the third game of the series.
"It felt amazing, it felt amazing," Tillman told NBC Sports Boston after his performance in Game 3. "I feel like all the preparation that I've gone through, I was ready for my moment whenever it was needed. I play my game, my game is defense, my game is communication, my game is setting screens and hitting corner 3's. That's me, playing my game."
Tillman joins a list of nine Spartans have now won 17 NBA Championship titles.
"This is an organization (Boston) and a ballclub that had wanted this for so long and I felt like we were ready for this moment," Tillman said after winning the title. "This team was so talented and has so many different weapons. The only way we were able to make it this far is was for everybody to be selfless. To get a chance to win a title, win it with Boston and then to add my name to a list among some great names in Michigan State history is very special to me."
Tillman is the second former Michigan State player to win a title with the Celtics, joining Sam Vincent, who was part of the 1986 Boston team that beat the Los Angeles Lakers in six games.
The first Michigan State player to win an NBA title was Magic Johnson, who won five titles with the Lakers (1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988).
Prior to Tillman, the last former Michigan State player to win an NBA title was Draymond Green with the Golden State Warriors, beating the Celtics in 2022 for the franchise's fourth championship (2015, 2017, 2018, 2022)
Other Spartans to win NBA title include Bryn Forbes with the Milwaukee Bucks (2021), Shannon Brown with the Lakers (2009, 2010), Steve Smith and Kevin Willis, who were on the 2003 San Antonio Spurs in 2003 and Matt Steigenga with the Chicago Bulls (1997).
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