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It was, as far as timing goes, not ideal for the Boston Celtics. The team was down, 1-0, to the Miami Heat in the NBA’s Eastern Conference finals and heading into Game 2 in Miami when guard Derrick White, the sixth man, was called away for the birth of his son, Hendrix. Not only did the delivery go smoothly but the Celtics survived without White, easily—they beat Miami by 25 to take control of the series, which they won in seven games.
There was a time when players would not miss postseason games, even if during a birth. But things have changed, and Celtics president Brad Stevens says that is a good thing, for White and any other future Celtics dads, no matter the result of the game involved.
“I’m glad Derrick went,” Stevens told Steve Bulpett of Heavy Sports. “It’s good for him. It’s good for his family. That’s the most important thing.”
‘It Was Just Such a Special Feeling’
White did have plans to work in the birth of his son between NBA playoff games, with his wife, Hannah, intending to have her pregnancy induced on a day when the Celtics were not playing. But Hendrix had other ideas, and on the morning of Game 2, White was told Hannah was going into labor.
After returning to the team, White told reporters (per the Boston Globe), “Once I found out she was in labor, I just tried to get that first flight out. I missed one, which would have got me there earlier, but finally got on one and was just texting with her mom the whole time while she eventually gave birth to our son.
“And it was just a special feeling. I wasn’t there, but even just getting pictures and videos and all that on the plane, it was just special and he’s already changed our life, so it’s been crazy. And then just sitting with him, watching the game, cheering us on from home, so it was cool. And just one of those moments that I’ll have forever.”
Derrick White Was Boosted in the Playoffs After Birth
The arrival of Hendrix appeared to do wonders for White in the playoffs, which had been a struggle for the first two rounds, and even into Game 3 of the conference finals. White averaged just 6.2 points on 33.8% shooting, making just 23.7% from the 3-point line.
He was much better from there, though he did struggle in the Celtics’ losses to the Warriors in the final two games of the NBA Finals (three points, 1-for-10 shooting). Overall, though, he averaged 11.6 points after Game 3 against Miami, making 37.3% of his 3-pointers.
White figures to play a big role with Boston in the coming season, too, as he undergoes his first training camp with the Celtics this fall, and will likely team with new point guard Malcolm Brogdon off the bench in what will be one of the best off-the-bench defensive tandems in the league.
White, acquired from San Antonio at the trade deadline for Josh Richardson, Romeo Langford, a 2022 first-round pick (the Spurs took guard Blake Wesley) and a future pick swap, averaged 11.4 points, 3.5 assists and 3.4 rebounds in 26 games to close the season for Boston.
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