Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich Texted Derrick White After Game-Winner
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Even though the Boston Celtics are eliminated from the playoffs following their Game 7 loss to the Miami Heat last night, they created some drama on their way out.
A week ago, the Celtics looked like a team in disarray, one game away from being swept in the Eastern Conference Finals. However, the Celtics staved off elimination three times to push the series to a seventh and final game. The most dramatic of the three wins came Saturday night when former San Antonio Spurs guard Derrick White tipped in a miss from Marcus Smart as the buzzer sounded to flip the score into Boston's favor and win the game.
White had never hit a shot bigger in his career than that night, and he received congratulatory texts from many people who were part of his basketball journey, including Spurs coach Gregg Popovich.
"A lot of people that I didn't even know they had my number," White told NBC Sports. "A lot of people from a lot of different aspects of my basketball career, my high school coach, college coaches. [Gregg] Pop[ovich] texted me, so it was a little bit of everybody."
White began his career with the Spurs as the No. 29 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. He played with the Spurs until 2022, when he was traded to the Celtics for Josh Richardson, Romeo Langford, a future first-round pick (who became Blake Wesley) and a pick swap in 2028.
Even though the Celtics failed to win the series, it's a moment that White and many basketball fans won't forget for a long time.
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