Boston Celtics: 3 wildcards who could go on to win Finals MVP

The Boston Celtics have clawed their way back from the playoff-less pits of the Eastern Conference standings over these last few months and, in turn, worked their way to a second-seed finish by the end of the regular season, won three hard-fought series during this year’s postseason, and, now, are finding themselves gearing up for the 2022 NBA Finals.

A historic comeback/ second-half of the season? You bet your bottom dollar it was!

Now, the C’s surge continues right onto the big stage of the championship round, where they’ll be squaring off against the dynastic Golden State Warriors.

Though many are labeling the Dubs as favorites to win both Game 1 and, frankly, the series as a whole, as we’ve seen throughout the year, it’s almost impossible to count this shamrock squad out, for they’ve proven time and time again that they can beat the odds and surpass even the most ambitious of expectations.

If the Boston Celtics were to wind up coming away with the Larry O’Brien Trophy, it is widely believed that franchise cornerstone Jayson Tatum will be the main reason for why and, as a result, would wind up receiving the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award in the process.

However, in order to hoist banner No. 18 into the rafters back at TD Garden, it will take an entire team effort and would require several players to step up their games which, subsequently, could wind up giving the All-NBA wing some competition for the illustrious accolade.

While it may be considered “jumping the gun” a bit–after all, Game 1 hasn’t even tipped off yet–we at HH would like to discuss 3 wildcard players who could go on to win this year’s Finals MVP:

Boston Celtics player No. 1) Derrick White

If Marcus Smart was coming into this year’s NBA Finals as a fully healthy participant, in all likelihood we would have him listed here and, perhaps, we’d even consider him a favorite along with Tatum to take home the hardware–his impact on both ends of the floor when locked in is truly invaluable.

That said, with his lingering lower-body ailments, it’s so hard to predict how well he’s going to be able to play and, with this, how often he’ll be able to play during this upcoming best-of-seven series and, because of this, we feel that Derrick White could be in line to take on a major role within Boston’s rotation and, if he can produce like how he has over the past few weeks, he’s absolutely deserving of being a wildcard Finals MVP candidate.

During the final four games of the Eastern Conference Finals, Ime Udoka called upon the veteran guard to step up due to Smart’s health issues, and, throughout this stretch, the C’s went 3-1 and, ultimately, ventured on to punch their ticket to the championship round.

Since Game 4 against Miami, White has seen unbelievably impressive averages of 14.3 points, 4.3 assists, 3.8 rebounds, two steals, and a block on 45 percent shooting from the field and 35 percent shooting from deep.

Showcasing the two-way abilities that made him a highly sought-after target for Brad Stevens and co. at the trade deadline, the 28-year-old has been a real pace pusher and effective distributor when serving as a primary ball-handler while also putting forth pesky defensive efforts that have been able to hinder their opponent’s offensive production.

Every championship-aspiring team needs to have that spark plug contributor off the pine that can step in at any moment and provide game-changing plays and fill in for key cogs within the starting lineup when need be, and, considering how impressive he was in the Conference Finals (genuinely do not believe the Celtics would have won without him), Derrick White could go on to prove his worth yet again under the bright lights of the NBA Finals.