Should White make NBA All-Defensive team? Holiday makes strong case originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Boston Celtics are one of the NBA’s elite defensive teams, and Derrick White is among the players most responsible for that success.
White is an elite perimeter defender. He’s versatile enough to defend multiple positions, he’s athletic, he’s physical and his basketball IQ is off the charts.
He ranked second among all guards during the regular season at 1.2 blocks per game. White also tallied one steal per game and an impressive 109.9 defensive rating, while ranking seventh among guards in defensive win shares. He was a major reason why the Celtics ranked No. 2 in defensive rating and No. 1 in net rating.
White’s Celtics teammates know better than anyone what kind of impact he makes on the defensive end of the floor. After practice on Wednesday, Celtics guard Jrue Holiday made a good case for White being named to one of the league’s All-Defensive teams.
“If he doesn’t get it, I’d be really surprised,” Holiday told reporters. “The things he does on defense — I mean, he blocks shots over screens, from the 3-point line, and in the paint. He’ll chase you down to get a block at the rim. He makes it difficult every time you touch the ball.
“I think the way he plays defense, helps our defense and sets the tone to where we can stay closer to our man because we know his individual defense is so good.”
White was selected to the All-Defensive second team last season. It was the first time he was named to one of those teams. After an even better season in 2023-24, White absolutely deserves to make the first or second team.
White isn’t just a great defensive player. He also has made a tremendous impact offensively this season. He is scoring 22.8 points per game, while shooting 50 percent from 3-point range and 90 percent from the free throw line during the playoffs.
His contributions offensively are very valuable, but if the Celtics are going to win the NBA Finals this season, they’ll need White to play elite defense against some of the best perimeter players on the remaining playoff teams. That list includes Donovan Mitchell, Jalen Brunson, Jamal Murray, Anthony Edwards, Luka Doncic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Game 2 of Celtics-Cavs is set for Thursday at 7 p.m. ET, with NBC Sports Boston’s coverage beginning at 6 p.m. with Celtics Pregame Live from TD Garden.
