Derrick White has morphed from a “glue guy” into a bonafide star, but he’s still a Swiss Army Knife who does a little bit of everything for his team. In the ongoing playoffs, White is third on the Celtics in scoring (17.8 points), first in 3PM (3.4 per game), second in assists (4.6) and second in blocks (1.3).
White’s ability to impact the game in a multitude of ways has given him a unique NBA playoff record. The versatile guard averaged 16.8 points, 6.5 assists, 4.8 rebounds, 2.3 blocks, 2.0 steals, and 2.8 threes across five games against the Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals. He became the first guard in NBA history to average over two steals, two blocks and two made threes in a playoff series.
In the closeout game of that series Monday, White had an incredible five steals and three blocks to go with his four assists, four rebounds and 16 points.
The game also saw White make a clutch three with 45 seconds left to give the Celtics a three-point cushion. Incidentally, he made the clutch put-back shot against the Heat exactly a year ago to send the Eastern Conference Finals to a Game 7 back in Boston.
White’s game-winners 12 months apart have led some Celtics fans to jokingly refer to May 27 as “Derrick White Day.”
White will play his second NBA Finals starting on June 6. During his first taste of the championship round in 2022, he came off the bench and averaged less than 10 points. Two years on, his role has drastically changed on the Celtics. He’s their best two-way player on most nights
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