Celtics Assistant Coaches Explain What Sets Derrick White Apart From Everyone Else

Derrick White is very good at what he does. One of the best at it, actually. But it’s fair to sometimes wonder how that actually happened.

At 6-foot-4, he’s tall for the real world, but he’s one of the smaller guys on the court. He’s in shape, but he’s not physically imposing. He’s athletic, but he’s not making a living off viral highlights. He can be dropped in the middle of any non-NBA-watching crowd and not many people would assume he’s an NBA player.

Of course he has worked very hard to maximize every physical tool he has. He has put in his 10,000 hours and then some honing the skills necessary to be an NBA player. But it’s his basketball IQ that sets him apart from the rest of the pack.

That takes a lot of work, too. There's film to study and tendencies to learn. But White’s superpower might just be a supercomputer brain that quickly learns, processes, and retains information to be used throughout games.

He explained on the latest episode of his White Noise Podcast.

“I think I just kind of pick things up pretty quickly,” White said. “They say something in film, then, somehow, I just remember random things. And who knows the time in the game where I'm like, ‘Oh, I remember that. They said he liked to go this way,’ and it would get a steal or something.”

It’s a classic “work smarter not harder” kind of thing, but it might actually be impossible to work as smart as White does. His podcast co-host and best friend, Alex Welsh, joked how White used to retain information while seemingly not paying attention and playing on his phone, and he could picture White doing the same in a film session. But White said he’s maximizing his ability in the team’s film room.

“I’m locked in,” White said. “Sometimes they ask questions and I’m not allowed to answer. That's how locked in I am.”

Boston Celtics assistants Matt Reynolds and Amile Jefferson were guests on the show and confirmed that White is so good at retaining information that they have to place a gag order on him just so other players can have chances to answer.

Sometimes that's a rule,” Reynolds said. Jefferson learned the hard way that the rule does not include a statute of limitations. Jefferson relayed the story of how he came up with a question so obscure, he was sure no one would know the answer.

“One time, Amile had a bet and I answered it and he lost the bet,” White said.

“So bad,” Jefferson said. “I knew I should have said anybody but DWhite can answer the question.”

You can watch the whole exchange below, starting at the 15 minute mark.

White’s ability to pull deep cuts from the Celtics playbook plays a huge role in his ability to make plays on the court. When his brain can anticipate plays, he can use his physical gifts to beat opponents to spots and make incredible plays.

Sure, some plays are just heart and hustle, like his block in Game 2 of the 2024 NBA Finals. That desire is another one of his super powers, for sure.

But his brain power is what truly sets him apart. On a team full of high-IQ players, it’s still hard to find a higher IQ player than White.

“I always tell people, the stuff that you guys are tasked with retaining, then going out and competing is so underrated,” Reynolds said. “We try to throw a lot at you guys to prepare you for an opponent, or skill development, or whatever. You're thinking through all this stuff, terminology and coverages and all that stuff, and then you're still trying to just let your skill shine. I think it’s much more impressive than people realize.”