BBNBA: Amari Williams scores first points, Devin Booker scores 16,000th point

Welcome to the NBA, Amari Williams. The former Kentucky point center, who signed a two-way deal with the Boston Celtics after the team drafted him in the second round, scored his first official points of his professional basketball career on Saturday. The bucket was quintessentially Amari Williams, a left-handed push hook shot in the lane over his defender. It is one Kentucky fans have witnessed dozens of times, but the first time Celtics fans got to see it in action.

Some of them, anyway. Amari’s first two points came in garbage time of a blowout loss to the Houston Rockets. Reed Sheppard knocked down four of his five 3-point attempts in the game in 17 minutes on the court. That is the most 3s he has made in a game this season.

Cheers to Amari on his first NBA basket. Here’s to many more.

Amari Williams with the first points of his NBA career! pic.twitter.com/qISbEcsj9o

— Tristan Pharis (@TristanUda) November 2, 2025

Devin Booker crosses the 16,000 point milestone

The Phoenix Suns have had a rough start to the season, but Devin Booker has been his usual scoring savant self. On the day before his 29th birthday, the former Wildcat crested the 16,000 point mark, joining elite company in the process. He is one of only five players in NBA history to score at 16,000 points before the age of 29, alongside LeBron James, James Harden, Kobe Bryant, and Tracy McGrady.

Not too bad.

Even better for Book, the Suns picked up a victory the day after this birthday, beating the Jazz in convincing fashion after losing to them the previous week. Booker added 36 points to his career total in the win.

Tyrese Maxey notches career-high in assists

A lot has been said this season about Tyrese Maxey’s scoring this season, but the former Kentucky guard posted a career-high in assists on Halloween night. Maxey dished out 14 dimes on Friday to go along with a casual 26 points, but the Philadelphia 76ers dropped their first game of the season.

The loss came at the hands of the Boston Celtics, which might explain why they ran out of gas against the Rockets the next night, paving the way for Amari Williams to get his first points. In a way, that is another assist for Maxey.

The freshly minted superstar previously had 14 points in a game once, back in 2023 against the Bulls, but look for that and many other records to get smashed like a bowl of candy left out unattended during Trick or Treat.

It’s gonna be spooky.

Other BBNBA Notes

• Julius Randle posted back-to-back 30-point outings for the Minnesota Timberwolves. The first came in a one-point loss to the Lakers, while the other came on Saturday night in a win over the Charlotte Hornets.
• Thankfully, Anthony Davis avoided a major injury on Wednesday, but Kentucky’s shot-block king fell victim to a calf strain and had to exit the Mavericks game on Wednesday. He will miss at least a couple of games. It is the latest in a series of injuries that have kept Davis off the court. In a crazy stat, this year Luka Doncic is averaging more points per game (45.3) than Anthony Davis, Cooper Flagg, and Klay Thompson combined for Dallas.
• With Irving and now Davis hurt, it has actually been PJ Washington doing the bulk of the scoring for Dallas. Through five games this season, he is averaging over 15 points per game, on par with the career-best numbers he put up in Charlotte.