Celtics Star Says Jayson Tatum Won't Respect Him Until He Does One Thing

Apr 8, 2025; New York, New York, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) and Boston Celtics guard Derrick White (9) react during the first half against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images | John Jones-Imagn Images

Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum is one of the leaders on the team, and he challenged guard Derrick White to get a technical foul.

Tatum is missing the entire upcoming season with a torn Achilles, leaving White as one of the team's top options on the court both offensively and defensively.

White, along with star Jaylen Brown, are going to be the focal point for the team, and the guard revealed a challenge that Tatum laid out for him.

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On his "White Noise Podcast," White explained what Tatum demands from him.

"JT told me he doesn't respect me until I get a technical," White said.

"Early in my career, I was like, I'll never get one. Last couple of years, I feel like I've gotten closer. I'm not against it, but I'm not gonna go out of my way to get one."

“[Jayson Tatum] told me he doesn’t respect me until I get a technical.”

Derrick White says this might be the year he gets his first tech 😂 pic.twitter.com/bc2fqwUvku

— Kicks (@kicks) August 6, 2025

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Despite playing hard on every possession with physical defense, White has not managed to get a technical foul, a surprising statistic given that the modern NBA features a lot of complaints from players towards referees.

Tatum has been angling for White to get into an altercation or argument with another player or referee. Last season, he elaborated on why White needs to get a technical foul.

“I’m no stranger to getting techs,” Tatum said back in April.

“D-White has never got a tech since he’s been in the league. I don’t know if anybody’s ever seen the reference in ‘The Longest Yard’ and when they was doing the recruiting and Chris Rock was like, ‘Man, I got half a star.’

"So I told D-White like, you gotta get one tech and get your street cred up. So I got excited when I thought he got a tech. I kind of campaigned for him to get one, one day. So we’ll see.

“It’s been a longtime discussion. We’ve been talking about this for a long time. I just heard technical foul D-White, so I got excited. I was going to go give him a huge hug or something.”

The Celtics should struggle compared to their long string of success with Tatum healthy, and White could potentially get frustrated.

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