Boston Celtics center Robert Williams is expected to make his season debut Friday night, ESPN and The Athletic reported Thursday.
The team upgraded his status to questionable to play against the visiting Orlando Magic.
Williams has been rehabbing after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery in September, a procedure to remove loose bodies and address swelling in the knee.
Williams, 24, made the NBA’s All-Defensive second team and helped Boston reach the NBA Finals in 2021-22. He set career highs with 10.0 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.2 blocked shots per game in 61 starts.
A first-round draft pick in 2018, Williams has career marks of 7.2 points and 6.6 boards in 174 games (77 starts).
His return adds more firepower to a Celtics team that is an NBA-leading 22-7 heading into Friday, when the Celtics open a seven-game homestand.
Center Al Horford also is expected to rejoin the Celtics on Friday. He missed three games on the just-concluded six-game road trip while in health and safety protocol, then missed consecutive games at Los Angeles for personal reasons.
–Field Level Media