Derrick White’s Attention Isn’t On All-Star Campaign Chitchat

Boston Celtics guard Derrick White has assembled a legitimate case for All-Star consideration, prompting a multi-month debate between those in favor and those against the 31-year-old going to Indianapolis.

Sliding into head coach Joe Mazzulla’s lineup as a first-time full-time starter, White’s flourished, and so have the Celtics. White’s averaged a career-high 16.8 points while leading all NBA guards in blocks per game (1.2), proving to still be among the best two-way guards the league has to offer.

Whether you believe that’s worthy of giving White your vote for the All-Star Game, one thing is for sure: he doesn’t care.

“I think definitively early in my career it made a difference, what people thought and what people were saying,” White said on the team’s “View From The Rafters” podcast. “Now there’s nothing you really can do. Somebody’s gonna be frustrated with whatever you do. So, you know me. Take the good that high, take the bad that low. It doesn’t really affect me anymore, especially people that don’t really know what’s going on and the things that are going on in day-to-day.”

The theme of Boston’s 2023-24 season has been simple: Demand sacrifice for the betterment of the team. That’s allowed newcomers Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday to help president of basketball operations Brad Stevens look like a genius. It’s allowed the offense to re-identify and better utilize its diverse weapons to create nightmare scenarios for opposing defenses. Most importantly, it’s made the Celtics an NBA-best 37-11 through 48 games.

Boston’s defended its home parquet with a 22-2 record, the best of any team in the league, and went on a franchise-record 20-game winning streak at TD Garden at the start of the season. That’s unreal, especially for a team of newcomers with high individual expectations, all tasked with prioritizing where they sit in the standings.

White, perhaps better than anyone else on the roster, has exemplified those values ever since the Celtics acquired him from the San Antonio Spurs in 2022. It’s only now getting greater recognition because A) White’s a member of Boston’s starting lineup and B) very few teams have given the Celtics a run for their money.

Obviously, that doesn’t guarantee that White becomes a first-time All-Star.

“There’s always somebody that gets pinched out,” Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said before Boston’s recent matchup with San Antonio when asked about White. “You can only have so many guys for one team or so many guys in that position already in the West or the East, and somebody doesn’t get a fair deal.”