Who is Derrick White? Tip in buzzer beater has turned Celtics guard into a local Boston legend

Benyam Kidane

• 4 min read

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The Boston Celtics are in the midst of a historic playoff run as they look to become the first team in NBA history to overturn a 3-0 series deficit.

After dropping the first three games of the series against the Miami Heat, Boston has roared back into the Eastern Conference Finals, thanks to an instant classic Game 6 win at the buzzer, via the heroics of Derrick White.

After Marcus Smart's 3-pointer rimmed out, White was first on the scene to put the ball in as time expired, setting up a blockbuster Game 7 at TD Garden.

DERRICK WHITE SENDS THE EAST FINALS BACK TO BOSTON FOR GAME 7!

HE WINS IT FOR THE CELTICS AT THE BUZZER 🚨#TissotBuzzerBeater | #TimingEmotions pic.twitter.com/ybUb5CT6l1
— NBA (@NBA) May 28, 2023

White has proven to be a big-time playoff performer for the Celtics since arriving in a mid-season trade from San Antonio in 2022 and thanks to his clutch Game 6 performance, Boston finds itself one win away from a second-straight trip to the NBA Finals.

MORE: Derrick White's buzzer-beater caps chaotic final two possessions in Game 6

Who is Derrick White?

Derrick White background

White was born on July 2, 1994, in Parker, Colorado.

The 6-foot-4, 190-pound guard attended Legend High School, averaging 17.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 2.1 steals per game.

In February 2023, White received the ultimate honor from his former high school as the first-ever inductee into the Legend Athletics Hall of Fame.

"This is where it all started for me. Legend was first school to give me an opportunity," White said. "To be able to come back here, thankful for athletic department to recognize me is pretty cool."

College and draft history

White's journey to the NBA took him the long way around, from an unrecruited prospect to a playoff hero.

At 6-foot, 155 pounds, White was not recruited coming out of high school and sent DVDs of his highlights to 50-odd schools, all coming back with the same response: he was too small.

The only four-year offer he received was a non-scholarship offer from then-coach Jeff Culver at NAIA school Johnson & Wales, better known for its culinary arts program, than its basketball exploits.

After Culver left Johnson & Wales to take the head coaching position at Division II University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, he offered White a $3,000 scholarship as a walk-on with an opportunity to earn a full scholarship.

White took out a loan for the rest of his tuition and seized his opportunity, playing three years for the Mountain Lions, leaving as the school's all-time leader in points (1,912) and assists (343), before making the leap to Division I, playing for Colorado.

Now 6-foot-5, White had blossomed into an NBA prospect, averaging 18.1 points, 4.4 assists and 4.1 rebounds, earning All-Pac-12 First Team honors.

He entered the 2017 NBA Draft and was selected by the San Antonio Spurs with the No. 29 overall pick, where he played the first four-and-a-half seasons of his NBA career, before arriving in Boston.

Revisiting the Celtics-Spurs trade: How Derrick White landed in Boston

After the Celtics got off to a slow start last season in 2021-22, they began to turn a corner once they got everyone healthy at the trade deadline prior to the All-Star break

Sitting seventh in the Eastern Conference with a 32-25 record at the time of the trade, Boston loomed as a threat in the East, but what followed was indeed beyond their own expectations.

Acquiring White and Daniel Theis at the deadline while moving Dennis Schroder, Josh Richardson and Romeo Langford, things began to click as they went 18-6 the rest of the way to climb to the No. 2 seed in the East, before making a run to the NBA finals where they lost to the Golden State Warriors in six games.

2022 Celtics-Spurs trade details

Celtics received: Derrick White
Spurs received: Josh Richardson, Romeo Langford, a 2022 first-round draft pick, and a 2028 first-round pick swap.

MORE: From Derrick White to Michael Jordan - Every game-winning buzzer-beater in NBA Playoffs history