Boston Celtics guard Derrick White. Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

Derrick White makes unique history in Eastern Conference Finals

By Sai Mohan | Last updated May 28, 2024 12:02 PM ET

Derrick White has morphed from a "glue guy" into a bonafide star, but he's still a Swiss Army Knife who does a little bit of everything for his team. In the ongoing playoffs, White is third on the Celtics in scoring (17.8 points), first in 3PM (3.4 per game), second in assists (4.6) and second in blocks (1.3).

White's ability to impact the game in a multitude of ways has given him a unique NBA playoff record. The versatile guard averaged 16.8 points, 6.5 assists, 4.8 rebounds, 2.3 blocks, 2.0 steals, and 2.8 threes across five games against the Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals. He became the first guard in NBA history to average over two steals, two blocks and two made threes in a playoff series.

Derrick White is the first guard in NBA history to have a playoff series averaging:

2+ SPG
2+ BPG
2+ 3PM pic.twitter.com/8QhVQ2o4G6
— StatMamba (@StatMamba) May 28, 2024

In the closeout game of that series Monday, White had an incredible five steals and three blocks to go with his four assists, four rebounds and 16 points.

Derrick White is the 10th player in NBA history with at least 5 steals, 4 assists, and 3 blocks in a playoff game.

The most recent was also a Celtic – Glen Davis – on 4/23/09 vs. Chicago. pic.twitter.com/0UcyVncIjw
— Taylor Snow (@taylorcsnow) May 28, 2024

The game also saw White make a clutch three with 45 seconds left to give the Celtics a three-point cushion. Incidentally, he made the clutch put-back shot against the Heat exactly a year ago to send the Eastern Conference Finals to a Game 7 back in Boston.

Derrick White

May 27, 2023 ➡️ May 27, 2024 pic.twitter.com/JY1we1Ufgc
— Taylor Snow (@taylorcsnow) May 28, 2024

White's game-winners 12 months apart have led some Celtics fans to jokingly refer to May 27 as "Derrick White Day."

White will play his second NBA Finals starting on June 6. During his first taste of the championship round in 2022, he came off the bench and averaged less than 10 points. Two years on, his role has drastically changed on the Celtics. He's their best two-way player on most nights.

Sai Mohan

A veteran sportswriter based in Portugal, Sai covers the NBA for Yardbarker and a few local news outlets. He had the honor of covering sporting events across four different continents as a newspaper reporter. Some of his all-time favorite athletes include Mike Tyson, Larry Bird, Luís Figo, Ayrton Senna and Steffi Graf.

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