Ex-Spurs Derrick White Among Early Leaders for 2022 NBA Finals MVP
The Boston Celtics hold a 1-0 series lead over the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals. The impact of former San Antonio Spurs guard Derrick White played a key role in the outcome.
Prior to the Celtics and Warriors tipping off for Game 2 of the 2022 NBA Finals, NBA.com released a way-too-early leaderboard for Finals MVP. With Boston winning Game 1, it would be expected that many of the leaders would be Celtics players.
Jayson Tatum sorely struggled to score in Game 1 with just 12 points on 3-17 from the floor. His Celtics supporting cast stepped up significantly to pull off a historic fourth-quarter comeback against the Warriors at Chase Center.
Al Horford ranked atop the Finals MVP after making a career-high six 3-pointers in part of a 26-point performance. He scored 11 of his points in the fourth quarter alone. If he can continue to light it up from deep and defend at a high level, the Celtics' outlook in the series will stay high.
Second on the way-too-early Finals MVP ladder is Jaylen Brown, who finished Game 1 with 24 points, seven rebounds, and five assists. He stepped up significantly as an all-around threat on offense, especially when Boston was chipping away at the Warriors' lead in the second half.
Former Spurs guard Derrick White has played a key role for the Celtics as their playoff run has played out. He was pivotal to close out the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals. He stepped up again significantly with 21 points and three assists in Game 1 of the NBA Finals — earning him the third spot on the Finals MVP ladder.
“Every day, he’s done something new to make you go, ‘That’s why he’s here,’" Celtics guard Marcus Smart said.
With how the Warriors have aggressively been helping at the nail and loading up on drives in general, the Celtics' complementary talents need to be ready to attack. White has stayed ready to shoot from deep in addition to attacking off the dribble to get into the gap.
“Just sometimes when you get to a new team, you’re like, where do I fit? But everybody has been just telling me to be aggressive, be me," White said.
“Some games I’ll be just trying to fit in, just out there. People will pull me aside, ‘No, we need you to do what you do.’ It’s just good to have those reminders. I mean, I love playing for, like, the coaching staff and the teammates. They’ve been really just pushing me to do what I do.”
The unselfish play White provides to the Celtics' offense as a playmaker has opened things up in a needed way to tie the unit together. The same can be said about his contributions on defense as another defender that can contain the ball, switch, and contribute as an off-ball defender.
“Derrick White is a baller," Brown said. "He has been for a while. … Certain people get up for moments, have the ability to outplay the scouting report, just can flat-out hoop. Credit to D-White, man. He can ball.”
The Celtics will continue to need White to provide major contributions to fuel what could be the 18th successful NBA championship run in the history of their franchise.
