Boston Celtics
“You look at all the advanced stuff, he’s [a] top 5 player in the league, [a] superstar.”
When it comes to charting out the Celtics’ sustained stretch of success on the court over the last few seasons, most of the praise tends to get directed toward Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
But, Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson was quick to salute another key cog in Boston’s lineup ahead of the Celtics’ eventual 109-98 victory Sunday afternoon.
“Derrick White, he’s a top five player in this league,” Atkinson said, per MassLive’s Bran Robb. “I know no one says that in the standard media, but analytically, you look at all the advanced stuff, he’s [a] top 5 player in the league, [a] superstar.
“Jaylen [Brown] is obviously having a great year. [Neemias] Queta is analytically one of the top 30 [players], probably. They have a lot of talent even without Jayson. So I think if you just kind of look, oh my gosh, Jayson Tatum’s out, they’re going to be terrible, I never bought into that.”
White’s stats may not leap off the page like Brown or Tatum (when healthy). But the 31-year-old guard impacts games in a variety of ways.
Even though White’s shooting has dipped this season (39.4 field goal percentage), he is still averaging 17.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game in his fifth season with Boston.
With Tatum missing the first 61 games of the 2025-26 campaign while recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon, White elevated his game this season as Boston’s secondary scoring option behind Brown.
Now that Tatum is back in the fold and cleared to play for the final stretch of the season, White can settle back into his usual role as Boston’s Swiss Army Knife.
Beyond his knack for stuffing the stat sheet, White’s ability to guard several positions and swat attempts in the paint makes him Joe Mazzulla’s go-to defensive stopper this season.
White had a quiet game on Sunday against Cleveland, scoring just six points off of 2-for-9 shooting with seven rebounds and five assists. But with Brown and Tatum teaming up for 43 points, the Celtics don’t need White to do too much in order to positively impact this roster.
“They’re really good. I mean, they’re a tough matchup for everybody,” Atkinson said Sunday. “They got a championship pedigree, right? This is another level. This is an elite, elite team, one of the elites, of the league. We got a lot to prove that this is part of it, getting over the hump. They’re really good, and now they have Tatum back.”
Sign up for the Today newsletter
Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.