Now in his sixth (!!) NBA season, Xavier Tillman is probably wishing he never got traded away from his good friend and fellow Spartan in the NBA Jaren Jackson Jr.
At Michigan State, Tillman and Jackson Jr. were best friends, so when Jaren went to the league in 2018, Xavier probably couldn’t wait to join him. Tillman was one of Tom Izzo’s most developed players, going from borderline top-100 recruit to NBA prospect in three years, getting drafted in the second round by the Grizzlies in 2020.
During his three years at Michigan State, Tillman won the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year award, and was instrumental in the Spartans’ 2019 Final Four run. Both he and Cassius Winston went out as three-time Big Ten champions together in 2020.
Tillman then re-joined forces with Jackson and the two looked to be living the dream in Memphis as teammates again.
Unfortunately, he’s since been traded to Boston, and his role hasn’t been the same.
Xavier Tillman has seen his role reduced
After spending his first 3.5 seasons in the NBA with the Memphis Grizzlies, the former No. 35 overall pick in 2020 was dealt to the Boston Celtics where he saw his role diminish. He averaged over 20 minutes per game with Memphis in 2023-24 before getting traded, and that number dipped to 13.7 minutes with the Celtics.
Though he did win the NBA title that year, he didn’t see the floor nearly as much as he would’ve liked. Now, he’s playing even less with the Celtics.
With Memphis, he was averaging 6.0 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.2 stocks (steals + blocks) in over 20 minutes per game, but his numbers haven’t touched that since the trade to Boston happened in 2023-24.
A big reason for his struggles in Boston was a recurring knee injury that forced him into offseason surgery after the 2024-25 season.
While he did rehab and slim down after the surgery to prepare for the 2025-26 season, he hasn’t quite been able to stay on the floor. He’s been on the injury report multiple times this year already, and he’s only played in 11 games with one start through Dec. 29. When he does play, he’s averaging 2.8 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 0.7 stocks in 9.4 minutes.
If he can pull off a completely healthy turnaround, Tillman could carve out a role on the right team, but it doesn’t look like he has much of one in Boston.