Derrick White (basketball)

White with the San Antonio Spurs in 2019

White was one of 60 NBA prospects invited to the 2017 NBA Draft Combine.[12] He was one of only 15 combine invitees who had not been Rivals top-150 prospects in high school, and one of only three who did not sign with Division I programs out of high school. In addition, according to Yahoo! Sports writer Jeff Eisenberg, he was also "the only one who will use part of his first NBA contract to pay off student loans he accumulated paying for tuition at UCCS as a freshman."[8]

The San Antonio Spurs drafted White with the 29th pick of the 2017 NBA draft.[13] White was later included in the Spurs' 2017 NBA Summer League roster.[14] On July 6, White signed with the Spurs.[15]

On October 18, 2017, White made his NBA debut, coming off the bench in a 107–99 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.[16] On October 31, 2017, he was sent along with Dāvis Bertāns to the Austin Spurs of the NBA G League.[17] White suffered a fractured right wrist during a G League game against the Texas Legends. He was then recalled to San Antonio several days later.[18][19] On March 12, 2018, White scored a career-high 14 points along with four rebounds, one assist, and a block in a 93-109 loss to the Houston Rockets.[20]

On April 14, 2018, White made his NBA playoffs debut, coming off the bench with seven points, an assist, a steal, and a block in a 92–113 loss to the Golden State Warriors in game 1 of the series.[21]

On October 12, 2018, White was revealed to have a left plantar fascia tear.[22] On November 7, White made his season debut recording one rebound and three assists in a 95–88 loss to the Miami Heat.[23] On December 31, White scored his career-high 22 points with three rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal in a 120–111 win over the Boston Celtics.[24] On January 10, 2019, White scored another career-high 23 points with eight assists, five rebounds, two steals and a block in a double-overtime 154–147 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.[25] On January 30, 2019 against the Brooklyn Nets, White then recorded a then career-high 26 points.[26] On April 18, 2019, against the Denver Nuggets, White recorded another career-high of 36 points to give San Antonio a 2–1 lead in the first round of the 2019 playoffs.

On December 21, 2020, the Spurs announced that they had signed White to a reported four-year, $73 million rookie scale extension.[27][28] On April 1, 2021, White hit a career-high 7 three-pointers in a 129–134 double overtime loss to the Atlanta Hawks.[29]

On February 10, 2022, White was traded to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Josh Richardson, Romeo Langford, a 2022 first-round pick (which turned into Blake Wesley) and the rights to swap 2028 first-round picks.[30] White played his first game with the Celtics a day later and finished with 15 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists.

In Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat, White scored 22 points on 7-for-14 shooting, alongside 5 assists and 3 steals, in a 111–103 loss.[31] The Celtics would go on to eliminate the Heat, earning White his first Finals appearance in his career.[32] In Game 1 of the Finals, he logged 21 points and three assists in a 120–108 win over the Golden State Warriors.[33] The Celtics went on to lose the series in six games.

White began the 2022-23 season as a starter for the Celtics. On February 10, he scored a career high 33 points against the Charlotte Hornets in a 127-116 win.[34] Three days later on February 13, 2023, White was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week, after averaging 24.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 7.5 assists as a starter in place of the injured Marcus Smart.[35]

In Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals, White made a buzzer-beating put-back shot as time expired to beat the Miami Heat 104–103 to force a Game 7, saving the Celtics from elimination.[36][37][38] White became the second player in NBA history to hit a buzzer-beating game-winner with his team trailing and facing elimination, joining Michael Jordan's "The Shot" in 1989.[39] The Celtics went on to lose Game 7 at home, 84–103, in which White contributed with 18 points.[40]

During the 2022-23 season, White started 70 games and appeared in all 82 regular season games, both career highs. He also shot 38.1% from three and 87.5% from the free throw line, both being career highs. His 76 blocked shots were also career high. In May, White was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second team for the first time.[41]