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Boston Celtics guard Derrick White is getting some recognition from the least likely of sources – Los Angeles Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell. After the Lakers lost their preseason game to the Milwaukee Bucks, Russell singled out White as someone that he not only wants to model his game after, but believes doesn’t get enough credit.
“I’m not using preseason as preseason. I’m using it as the first few games of the season,” Russell said on October 15, per Spectrum SportsNet’s X account. “That’s just my approach. If I look crazy doing it or picking up guys full-court, diving, and doing all that, that’s what I’m gonna be. My inspiration has been Derrick White. I wanna be Derrick White. He doesn’t get a lot of credit for what he does, makes all the winning plays, and that’s who I wanna be.”
White is starting to get some recognition around the NBA for what he contributes because of his play with the Celtics, like making the NBA’s All-Defensive Second Team in 2023 and saving the Celtics season when he made a buzzer-beating putback against the Miami Heat in Game 6 of the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals.
Russell’s never had the reputation for being a player who does what White does. He’s known more for his scoring abilities, which earned him a spot in the 2019 NBA All-Star game when he played for the Brooklyn Nets, but the Lakers would benefit from him making similar contributions to White for the Celtics.
Insider Reveals Details of Derrick White’s Extension
On the October 12 episode of “How ‘Bout Them Celtics,” NBA Insider Jake Fischer from Yahoo Sports revealed where the Celtics and White stand on a potential extension.
“I can’t say I’ve heard anything specific on where those talks, if there are talks, have come up at all, to be honest, but what I can say is that Derrick White is assuredly someone that the Celtics front office and coaching staff is very, very high on,” Fischer said.
White may very well go into the 2023-24 season with no new deal on the horizon, but that may not mean he won’t have a long-term future in Boston. Given his role in the Celtics’ last two playoff runs, it would be hard to see why the front office wouldn’t want to keep him.
Jrue Holiday Calls Playing With Derrick White ‘Fun’
Holiday explained why he has enjoyed getting to know White’s a game a little more since arriving in Boston. Holiday detailed what it’s been like to play alongside White in practice while talking with The Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach.
“It’s fun,” Holiday said while talking with Himmelsbach. “I think the chemistry is there. Even just the first few days of training camp, talking to him about what he likes to do defensively or even just asking him about certain things. But getting out there and actually being able to play with him a bit more, getting that court time has been good for us.”
Whether they start together or not, White and Holiday should make for one of the very best defensive backcourt duos in the NBA.
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