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Grant Williams talks about how Kemba Walker "saved" him at the height of COVID-19: "Come live with me"
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- Grant Williams talks about how Kemba Walker "saved" him at the height of COVID-19: "Come live with me"
Becoming an NBA rookie marks the culmination of a lifelong journey that began with a dream. It also means it's the start of yet another journey, one that is more arduous than the previous one. For Grant Williams , his rookie campaign was a lot more difficult than most.
Aside from having to carve out a place for himself in a stacked rotation that featured All-Stars like Gordon Hayward , Jayson Tatum and Kemba Walker , he also had to deal with a lot of uncertainty, especially when the NBA halted the season in March 2020 due to COVID-19.
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With games on hold and salaries stopped, Grant found himself grappling with numerous challenges, chief among them being where he would live. Fortunately, he had a veteran like Kemba who genuinely cared for him during that time.
Grant had nowhere else to go
Speaking about his rookie season on the "Club 520" show, Grant recalled how Kemba immediately presented himself as a friendly face right from the get-go. While other teammates were reserved and content to stay in their own lanes, Kemba went out of his way to make Grant feel at home.
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"K-Walk was the type to be like, 'Anything you got, I'm here for you,'" Williams recalled.
Proving that he absolutely meant what he said, Kemba stepped up when Grant needed him the most.
"When COVID happened that year, I was like, 'I don't know what I'm going to do.' My lease — I couldn't pay for the lease. I wasn't getting paid anymore. And at the same time, I couldn't go home to my grandparents or my mom. They're 90 and 60-something years old," Grant shared. "K-Walk was like, 'Come live with me.' So I lived with K-Walk the entire COVID period until we went to the bubble."
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While some vets are content to buy a rookie a suit or two or maybe show him the ropes around the practice facility, Kemba showed just how much he values his teammates by opening up his home to Grant during a difficult time. It wasn't just about being a good teammate; it was about being a decent, loving brother looking after another.
A full circle moment
Grant said that moment was a full circle one for him, given how much he looked up to the high-scoring guard when he was playing for Providence Day in Charlotte, North Carolina. At that time, Kemba was the man for the Hornets and later on, the Bobcats, and Grant thought he was the coolest dude on the planet.
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"I remember I told him this story. I said, 'You came to practice at Providence Day when I was in ninth grade. I remember asking for your autograph.' He's like, 'Damn, I don't remember that, but I remember practicing at PD,'" Grant narrated. "I was like, 'Yeah. In the small gym. I walked up to you.' It was a fan moment for me. And then to have him as a vet — and still to this day, he's my dog. Now he's my coach."
There's a popular saying that goes "Never meet your heroes, they will only disappoint you." But for Grant, this was definitely not the case.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Feb 27, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
