Celtics Guard Reveals He Had to Wear 'Ear Condom' After Scary Injury

Jun 2, 2022; San Francisco, California, USA: Golden State Warriors forward Otto Porter Jr. (32) battles for a rebound with Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard (11) and guard Derrick White (9) during the first half in game one of the 2022 NBA Finals at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images | Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

A Boston Celtics champion starter needed to wear what he described as an "ear condom" following a scary on-court injury.

Veteran guard Derrick White, who launched his very revealing "White Noise" podcast this summer, recently recalled the most debilitating injury of his pro career so far.

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When the conversation turned to the injury, White looked back on his first full season with the Celtics, 2022-23. He suited up for all 82 contests (70 starts), and continued to grow as a shooter and defender.

Derrick White says he had to wear an ear condom after Grayson Allen put a hole in his eardrum 🫨

(🎥 @kicks ) pic.twitter.com/1Wq5fwOwWC

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) September 6, 2025

Then-Milwaukee Bucks wing Grayson Allen, who has a predilection for hard fouls, was the culprit behind the pain this time.

"Grayson Allen kneed me in the ear and I ruptured my eardrum," White said. "I had to put a little ear condom [on]. That's probably my craziest injury. Malcolm [Brogdon] was shooting free throws. It was a close game at the time. And I'm at half court like [holding my ear]. My ear was ringing."

The 6-foot-4 University of Colorado at Boulder product has evolved into a two-time All-Defensive Teamer and a fringe All-Star candidate on two 60-win Boston teams, including the 2024 champs. Last season for the 61-21 Celtics, White averaged a career-best 16.4 points on .442/.384/.839 shooting splits and 4.5 rebounds per game, along with 4.8 assists, 1.1 blocks and 0.9 steals.

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"And people would talk to me on this side [he gestured to his right side here] and I was just not be able to hear them at all," White said. "They didn't want me to go on the [next] flight. My ear could have ruptured. I had to stay at the hotel in Milwaukee. We drove from Milwaukee to Chicago, and then I got on a flight from O'Hare [Airport] to Boston. Land in Boston, then just go straight to the [TD] Garden. That was the year that I didn't miss any games."

White's ear recovered, and Allen hasn't advanced out of the first round ever since, on the Bucks or Phoenix Suns.

White finds himself in the first season of a four-year, $118 million extension he inked with Boston just after winning a title with the franchise in 2024. That was quite the summer for the 31-year-old, as he went on to win an Olympic gold medal along with then-Celtics teammates Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday (the latter of whom is now on the Portland Trail Blazers) for the U.S. men's basketball team at the Paris summer games.

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