Derrick White 1-on-1: Shooting Slump, Trades, & Being Pushed Into a Leadership Role

CHARLESTON, SC — Joe Mazzulla thinks he could have done more.

Derrick White struggled through his worst shooting season as a Celtic last season, even as he was in the midst of a first-team All-Defensive season. Anyone not watching could say White averaged more points, assists, offensive rebounds, blocks, and steals than any other season in his career. That, along with his All-Defensive accolade and his highest ever finish in Defensive Player of the Year voting, easily would make the 2025-26 campaign his best ever.

But his 32.7% three-point shooting tells a different story.

Yes, it’s one statistic, but White was also 13th in the NBA in three-point attempts per 100 possessions, and the only player in the top 20 of that stat to shoot less than league average (36%).

“I think I started off slow, and then it kind of messes your mind,” White told Celtics On SI in a one-one-one interview.

White shot above league average in only two of seven months played last season. He had three months of below-30% shooting from three. He had one season where he shot above league average. The rest? That was a mess.

“You start tweaking some things that you probably shouldn't need to tweak, and then it kind of just snowballs into what I had,” White told Celtics On SI. “So I think it starts with just having a good foundation, getting back to doing things that I've done my whole life, and issue with confidence after that.”

Confidence is key, and that's true for any shooter. White’s admission is that the slump last season was almost entirely mental. That's where Mazzulla wishes he could have intervened.

“I was like, OK, where could I have gotten better as a coach? Where could I have helped him get out of that faster?” he said in response to my question on Tuesday morning at The Citadel. “What can we do as an organization? We have Kerry [Guest, the team performance psychologist] and our mental performance and things of that nature, so how can we help guys get out of stuff like that faster? I think that's just as much on me and Kerry and as it is on Derrick.”

Maybe Mazzulla is just trying to take the pressure off one of his most important players this season. White can be counted on to do a lot for the Celtics, but there's little doubt that his shooting will be among the most important.

The Celtics will have to trust that White has learned to trust his own work; that the elements that led him to three full seasons of 38% three-point shooting or better will take hold again.

“I think he does a good job of being there for you, and also kind of lets you figure it out,” White said. “I thought he did a good job of kind of just doing the best you could, and it's up to us to make shots.”

That will play out over the course of this season. But one thing the Celtics need White to be is a more vocal lead on this team. He has had the luxury over three-plus seasons in Boston to have both Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown with him on the team, and also two seasons of Jrue Holiday to take that burden off his shoulders. Now, White is the fourth-most tenured Celtic behind Tatum, Payton Pritchard, and Sam Hauser. If anyone has questions about how things are done and what the standard is, White is among the first who needs to set the example.

“I think every year you want to be more of a leader, more sure of yourself,” White said. “You've been here for a while. You know what's going on and know what's expected. So I do have that, and I think the coaching staff's trying to push me to be a little bit more, do a little bit more. So it's been a fun challenge.”

White is 32 years old now, which puts him squarely at “team leader” age, but also at the age where his future might be considered a case of diminishing returns. He’s under contract for two more seasons (the second of which is a player option for $34.8 million), which makes him a free agent at 34.

Keeping White for the rest of his career would be easy under the old way of doing business. It’s less straightforward in the apron era. Good, expensive teams ultimately have to give away talent, and what talent they choose to part with depends on how the remaining talent looks with and without them. It’s an added layer of pressure on the harsh reality of NBA basketball.

“The business is the business, especially nowadays,” White told Celtics On SI. “Anybody can get traded. But I think we do a good job in the locker room, kind of wanting to care about each other.”

Whatever the future holds will be dealt with later. White is excited for a new season with new teammates, but also the opportunity to grow with the teammates he’s had. If he can figure it out in the short term, then the longer-term can be figured out later on.

That will be easier if he can get back to hitting shots.

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