How Former Spurs SG Derrick White Has Continued to Prove That He 'Belongs' in NBA
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When the final buzzer sounded in Cleveland during the San Antonio Spurs' Feb. 9, 2022 matchup against the Cavaliers, only one thing was certain.
The Spurs had lost another road game to drop to 20-35 on the season just before the NBA trade deadline.
The very next day, however, another thing was certain — and rather upsetting — for a good amount of the Spurs fanbase ... Derrick White had just played his final game for San Antonio.
Drafted with the 29th pick of the 2017 NBA Draft, White was an unlikely breakout candidate. Though San Antonio is no stranger to late draft pick standouts, as Spurs legends Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker and even Boris Diaw were all selected with a draft pick lower than 20 in their respective years.
White was just another late first-rounder turned core player for San Antonio, but he left a legacy on the Spurs during his five years there, improving his play each year since his arrival.
And for the first time since being traded away, his team got to host the Spurs in what was likely a unique second-reunion for White, Popovich and San Antonio in Boston.
White played basketball for two different programs — both in Colorado — during his four years at the college level, starting with the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs.
But before he even enrolled at UCCS, White already epitomized the underdog narrative — being offered a room and board stipend for his freshman year after a close connection with the Mountain Lions' newly hired head coach, John Culver.
Culver gave the high-school prospect a chance, but because of his size, he only expected a light contribution to the team from White in his early years.
Instead, White not only grew in size, but grew in talent as well, and by the end of his three years with at UCCS, he owned the school record for points and assists.
His story continued at Colorado, where he continued to show why he was meant to not only be at a Division I school, but to be a team leader, as he averaged 18.1 points, 4.4 assists and 4.1 rebounds en route to a first-team All-Pac-12 selection.
Following that season, the point guard found himself at the highest level of basketball, playing for a Gregg-Popovich coached Spurs team in 2017.
"Derrick is a special case," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "[He] figured out over time that he belonged."
White's eventual status as a fan-favorite started early, with what Popovich said happened behind-the-scenes.
"We got him, and in development he was outstanding," Popovich said. "He spent a lot of time before and after practices, at summer leagues, learning how to play. He had the size at [his] position ... and the immediate thing you could see was that he had a nose for the game."
In his first season for the Spurs, White only saw game action 17 times, though he made the most of it — adding points, rebounds, blocks, steals and assists during the minutes he did have, which only furthered his abilities heading into the offseason and the next year.
"Most NBA players don't know how to play," Popovich said. "He did. And he added skill development on top of that. ... He just got better and better because he put so much time in."
White and Popovich's relationship continued to develop, with Popovich telling the young guard again and again that he belonged, and after that, it was not long before White became a consistent rotational player for the Spurs, where he spent four seasons before being moved to Boston.
Since joining the Celtics, White has played arguably some of the best basketball of his career, averaging 12.4 points, 4.0 assists and 3.5 rebounds — all numbers that increased from his first year in Boston.
Though he has no championships under his belt, the six-year veteran has a long ways to go with the Celtics, and if anything is similar to his time with Popovich, White is finding out once more that he belongs — not just in Boston, but in the NBA.
His most recent game against his former team may have been a testament to that, when he scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds during the Celtics' victory.
Perhaps it was last season, when White was a part of the Celtics squad that went to the NBA finals for the first time since 2010.
Either way, White has only improved his play since coming to the league, and has been a crucial part of every team he's been with — an unlikely outcome for any player coming in as an underdog.
If the 28-year old has proven anything, however, it's that he belongs in the league and he is not an underdog.
But even if he doesn't know it yet, Popovich does, and that may be all he needs to hear.
"He's a special young man," Popovich said. "[I did] the same thing anybody else would've done. Repetition is important. Making him believe that you really believe what you're saying to him, and showing him a lot of love ... and then at that point, it's up to him. It's not just one point where it clicks."
Now, White looks to return to the NBA Finals this season with the Celtics and grab his first NBA championship.
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