Derrick White (born July 2, 1994) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA). He played three years of

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

in Division II for the

UCCS Mountain Lions The UCCS Mountain Lions is the official name of the athletic teams that represent the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Mountain Lions compete as membe ...

before transferring to the Division I

Colorado Buffaloes The Colorado Buffaloes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Colorado. The university sponsors 17 varsity sports teams. Both the men's and women's teams are called the Buffaloes (Buffs for short) or, rarely, the Golden Buffalo ...

for his final season. White was selected 29th overall by the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...

in the

2017 NBA draft The 2017 NBA draft was held on June 22, 2017, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. ...

. In February 2022, he was traded to the Celtics and became a key contributor for the team when they reached the

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...

High school career

White attended

Legend High School Legend High School is a public high school in Parker, Colorado. It is part of the Douglas County School District RE-1. It is the first high school to be located in Parker since Parker High School closed in 1958. Campus Legend High School is locate ...

, a brand new high school in

Parker, Colorado Parker is a Colorado municipalities#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality in Douglas County, Colorado, Douglas County, Colorado, United States. As a self-declared "town" under the home rule statutes, Parker is the second most populous to ...

, and was a part of its first graduating class. As a freshman on the basketball team, he played with 11 other freshman en route to one win in league play. As a senior, White averaged 17.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 2.1 steals per game. White scored over 1,000 points in his career. At the time of his graduation in 2012, he was a six-foot combo guard. On February 17, 2023, White was honored as the first-ever Legend athletics hall of fame inductee.

College career

White was lightly recruited out of high school, receiving no scholarship offers from any four-year institutions. At the time of his high school graduation, which fell about two months before his 18th birthday, he was barely 6 feet tall—after growing two inches during his senior year. The only head coach at a four-year school who showed sustained interest in White was Jeff Culver, then the head coach at the Denver campus of

Johnson & Wales University Johnson & Wales University (JWU) is a private university with its main campus in Providence, Rhode Island. Founded as a business school in 1914 by Gertrude I. Johnson and Mary T. Wales, JWU enrolled 7,357 students across its campuses in the fa ...

, a non-scholarship NAIA member better known for its culinary program. By the time White was preparing to make his college decision, Culver was hired as head coach at

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

UCCS, and offered White a room and board stipend for his freshman season. Culver was only expecting White to become a starter late in his college career. He was aware that White's father had a late growth spurt in college, and also knew that doctors had projected White to potentially reach 6'5". As it turned out, White reached that potential height by the time he enrolled at Colorado–Colorado Springs. With his newfound size and athleticism, White became a star at UCCS, starting every game of his three-year career and left as the school's career leader in points (1,912) and assists (343). In his junior season, he averaged 25.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and 5.2 assists for the Mountain Lions, leading the team to the 2015 NCAA tournament. He was named an All-American. Following this season, White opted to transfer to Division I

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

to play for

Tad Boyle Thomas Martin "Tad" Boyle (born January 6, 1963) is an American college basketball coach who is the men's head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes of the Pac-12 Conference. He was named the 18th coach in Colorado men's basketball history on April 19, ...

and to test his skills in the

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...

, one of the top college leagues in the country. After sitting out the 2015–16 season per

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

rules, White excelled in his lone season with the Buffaloes, averaging 18.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game. He was named first-team All-Pac-12 and a member of the five-man All-Defensive team.

Professional career

San Antonio Spurs (2017–2022)

White was one of 60 NBA prospects invited to the 2017

NBA Draft Combine The NBA Draft Combine is a multi-day showcase that takes place every May before the annual June NBA draft. At the combine, college basketball players are measured and take medical tests, are interviewed, perform various athletic tests and shootin ...

. He was one of only 15 combine invitees who had not been

Rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...

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 Yahoo! Sports is a sports news website launched by Yahoo! on December 8, 1997. It receives a majority of its information from STATS, Inc. It employs numerous writers, and has team pages for teams in almost every North American major sport. Bef ...

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." The

drafted White with the 29th pick of the

. White was later included in the Spurs'

2017 NBA Summer League The 2017 NBA Summer League consisted of three pro basketball leagues organized by the National Basketball Association (NBA): the Orlando Pro Summer League, Utah Jazz Summer League, and Las Vegas Summer League. Eight teams participated in the wee ...

roster. On July 6, White signed with the Spurs. On October 18, 2017, White made his NBA debut, coming off the bench in a 107–99 win over the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

. On October 31, 2017, he was sent along with

Dāvis Bertāns Dāvis Bertāns (born 12 November 1992) is a Latvian professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed the "Latvian Laser", he also represents the Latvian national team. He was the 4 ...

to the

Austin Spurs The Austin Spurs are an American basketball team in the NBA G League based in Cedar Park, Texas, and are affiliated with the San Antonio Spurs. The team plays their home games at H-E-B Center at Cedar Park. The team has made the postseason in ...

of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

. White suffered a fractured right wrist during a

G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA Dev ...

game against the

Texas Legends The Texas Legends are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Frisco, Texas, and are affiliated with the Dallas Mavericks. The Legends play their home games at the Comerica Center. The team began as the Colorado 14 ...

. He was then recalled to San Antonio several days later. 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 The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

. 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 The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

in game 1 of the series. On October 12, 2018, White was revealed to have a left plantar fascia tear. On November 7, White made his season debut recording one rebound and three assists in a 95–88 loss to the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Southe ...

. 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

. 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 The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays i ...

. On January 30, 2019 against the

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The t ...

, White then recorded a then career-high 26 points. 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. On April 1, 2021, White hit a career-high 7 three-pointers in a 129–134 double overtime loss to the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Sou ...

Boston Celtics (2022–present)

On February 10, 2022, White was traded to the

in exchange for

Josh Richardson Joshua Michael Richardson (born September 15, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Tennessee Volunteers, earning first-tea ...

Romeo Langford Romeo James Langford (born October 25, 1999) is an American professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball, Indiana Hoo ...

, a 2022 first-round pick (which turned into

Blake Wesley Blake Wesley may refer to: * Blake Wesley (basketball), American basketball player * Blake Wesley (ice hockey), Canadian ice hockey player See also

* Wesley Blake, American professional wrestler {{Human name disambiguation, name=Wesley, Blake ...

) and the rights to swap 2028 first-round picks. 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

, White scored 22 points on 7-for-14 shooting, alongside 5 assists and 3 steals, in a 111–103 loss. The Celtics would go on to eliminate the Heat, earning White his first Finals appearance in his career. In Game 1 of the Finals, he logged 21 points and three assists in a 120–108 win over the

. The Celtics went on to lose the series in six games. 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 Marcus Osmond Smart (born March 6, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Smart was drafted with the ...

. At the end of the season, White was named for the first time to the

NBA All-Defensive Second team The NBA All-Defensive Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1968–69 NBA season to the best defensive players during the regular season. The All-Defensive Team is generally composed of ten players in two ...

. In Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals, White made a

buzzer-beating In basketball and other such timed sports, a buzzer beater is a shot that is taken before the game clock of a quarter, a half (if the half is the second one, then, a game), or an overtime period expires but does not go in the basket until after t ...

put-back shot as time expired to beat the

104–103 to force a Game 7, saving the Celtics from elimination. 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 Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...

's "

The Shot The Shot was a basketball play that occurred during a 1989 playoff game between the Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It took place on May 7, 1989 at Richfield Coliseum in Richfield Township, ...

" in

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

. The Celtics went on to lose Game 7 at home, 84-103, in which White contributed with 18 points.

National team career

On August 24, 2019, White was included in the US national team's final roster for the

2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup The 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup was the 18th tournament of the FIBA Basketball World Cup for men's national basketball teams. The tournament was hosted in China and was rescheduled from 2018 to 2019, becoming the first since 1967 FIBA World Ch ...

Personal life

White married Hannah Schneider in August, 2021. They had a son, Hendrix James White, on May 19, 2022. Their son is named for

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

, 17 , , 0 , , 8.2 , , .485 , , .615 , , .700 , , 1.5 , , .5 , , .2 , , .2 , , 3.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 65 , , 53 , , 25.8 , , .476 , , .333 , , .769 , , 3.6 , , 5.0 , , 1.0 , , .7 , , 9.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 68 , , 20 , , 24.7 , , .458 , , .366 , , .853 , , 3.3 , , 3.5 , , .6 , , .9 , , 11.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 36 , , 32 , , 29.6 , , .411 , , .346 , , .851 , , 3.0 , , 3.5 , , .7 , , 1.0 , , 15.4 , - , rowspan=2 style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 49 , , 48 , , 30.3 , , .426 , , .314 , , .869 , , 3.5 , , 5.6 , , 1.0 , , .9 , , 14.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, 26 , , 4 , , 27.4 , , .409 , , .306 , , .853 , , 3.4 , , 3.5 , , .6 , , .6 , , 11.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 70 , , 28.3 , , .462 , , .381 , , .875 , , 3.6 , , 3.9 , , .7 , , .9 , , 12.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 345 , , 229 , , 26.5 , , .447 , , .352 , , .846 , , 3.4 , , 3.8 , , .8 , , .8 , , 11.7

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 3 , , 0 , , 6.0 , , .500 , , .500 , , – , , .0 , , .3 , , .3 , , .7 , , 2.3 , - , align="left" ,

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, align="left" ,

, 7 , , 7 , , 27.3 , , .547 , , .294 , , .731 , , 3.0 , , 3.0 , , .7 , , .7 , , 15.1 , - , align="left" ,

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

, align="left" ,

, 23 , , 3 , , 25.4 , , .364 , , .313 , , .824 , , 3.0 , , 2.7 , , .9 , , .6 , , 8.5 , - , align="left" ,

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

, align="left" ,

, 20 , , 16 , , 29.7 , , .505 , , .455 , , .912 , , 3.0 , , 2.1 , , .6 , , 1.0 , , 13.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 53 , , 26 , , 26.2 , , .456 , , .387 , , .829 , , 2.8 , , 2.4 , , .7 , , .8 , , 10.9

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2012–13 , style="text-align:left;", Colorado–Colorado Springs , 24 , , 24 , , 29.6 , , .426 , , .342 , , .808 , , 3.8 , , 2.1 , , 1.5 , , 1.0 , , 16.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , style="text-align:left;", Colorado–Colorado Springs , 28 , , 28 , , 30.6 , , .480 , , .286 , , .826 , , 6.3 , , 4.2 , , 1.1 , , 1.5 , , 22.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2014–15 , style="text-align:left;", Colorado–Colorado Springs , 33 , , 33 , , 32.2 , , .529 , , .336 , , .838 , , 7.4 , , 5.2 , , 2.2 , , 2.1 , , 25.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;",

, 34 , , 32 , , 32.8 , , .507 , , .396 , , .813 , , 4.1 , , 4.4 , , 1.2 , , 1.4 , , 18.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 119 , , 117 , , 31.5 , , .494 , , .350 , , .824 , , 5.4 , , 4.1 , , 1.5 , , 1.5 , , 20.9

References

External links

Colorado–Colorado Springs Mountain Lions bioColorado Buffaloes bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:White, Derrick 1994 births Living people 21st-century African-American sportspeople 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup players African-American basketball players American men's basketball players Austin Spurs players Basketball players from Colorado Boston Celtics players Colorado Buffaloes men's basketball players People from Parker, Colorado Point guards San Antonio Spurs draft picks San Antonio Spurs players Shooting guards Sportspeople from the Denver metropolitan area UCCS Mountain Lions men's basketball players United States men's national basketball team players