'He's a Natural': Derrick White Joins Celtics Coaching Staff for One Day in Vegas

The Boston Celtics guard became an assistant for the team's game against Charlotte, and showed some serious coaching chops

Derrick White talks to an official during his stint as an assistant coach in the Boston Celtics summer league game on July 12, 2026. | John Karalis

LAS VEGAS — The Pavilion was awash in pink polos on Sunday afternoon. Maybe two dozen of them, each adorned with a salmon circle surrounding a white shamrock Boston Celtics logo, worn by team coaches and staff, added a pop of color to the crowded gym. 

One of them belonged to Derrick White, who didn't just love the subtle stripes and athletic cut so much that he stole one for a golf outing. He took a seat on the bench next to head coach Amile Jefferson. 

“He blends right in,” Jordan Walsh said of his teammate turned coach for a day. “He fits the profile perfectly. I was looking around for him and I saw him on the jumbotron, and I was like, ‘what?’”

As surprising as it was, this wasn’t some kind of gag to White and the Celtics. He spent parts of timeouts during the Celtics win over Charlotte with Hugo Gonzalez and Dillon Mitchell, going over how plays should have gone, and pushing the young players to find new levels of play. 

“He told me I can't get tired,” Mitchell said. “That was the main thing he said to me. You're not allowed to get tired.” 

White pulled the refs aside during another timeout to complain about a missed call. If you didn’t know any better, you might have thought he was a full-time member of the staff.

“We talked about it,” Jefferson said. “He was like, ‘I'm going to come coach a game.’ I was like, ‘Come on, let's do it.’ It’s really good for our guys to see him doing that, to be around them, to share his knowledge with them, and then to just motivate them on the bench. That breeds Celtics culture. That's what it's about.”

This was most likely a one night only show for White instead of a Vegas residency, especially because the league had previously shut down Utah’s attempt to have Keyonte George on their summer coaching staff. The Celtics may have to ask for forgiveness after not asking for permission, but whatever price there may be to pay, it was worth it. 

For now, White gets to say he is undefeated as a coach, but who knows what the future holds for him. He’s already Colorado University’s President of Basketball Strategy, so maybe life after playing will keep him in the game somehow.

“He's a natural,” Jefferson said. “If he wanted to be, he'd be a head coach. I truly believe that. If he ever wants to do it, he'd be amazing. He just has a great feel for people. Obviously, we all know how cerebral he is and his basketball mind, and so he's a natural. He'd be amazing at it.”