There won’t be the same level of buzz surrounding the Boston Celtics heading into the 2025-26 season, as there has been in the past few years. The team lost several major contributors to the 2024 NBA Championship roster, like Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, Luke Kornet, and Al Horford, in trades or free agency. Plus, Jayson Tatum will likely miss the entire upcoming campaign as he recovers from the ruptured Achilles he sustained in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Expectations are lukewarm at best.
So, what’s there for Celtics fans to be excited about then? Well, first and foremost, not having “championship or bust” expectations looming large will, ironically, be a breath of fresh air. In addition, this season serves as a great opportunity for stars like Jaylen Brown and Derrick White to shine in Tatum’s absence.
White, in particular, is going to see a significant change in his role. When both Jays have been healthy, the Colorado native largely takes on a tertiary scoring role, at most, and typically sees low-usage opportunities on offense, while playing menacing defense on the other end.
This season, he’ll oftentimes be the secondary scorer next to Brown, giving him a real chance to put his full “bag” on display. It’s no secret that White is a winning player, but he can prove to be more than just a guy who delivers on the margins.
He could be an All-Star.
What does Derrick White's path to an All-Star appearance look like?
As silly or far-fetched as that may sound, it’s a real possibility. White, a guy who averaged 16.4 points, 4.8 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.0 stocks (steals and blocks) per game last season on 44.8% from the field and 38.4% from deep, will almost certainly build on his already impressive statline as he works to fill the void left by Tatum’s absence.
If he can add somewhere between four and seven points per game with an extra assist and rebound, too, while remaining efficient on both sides of the ball, he’ll have a real case, especially with how weak the Eastern Conference is supposed to be. There aren’t many guys who should be automatically slated above the two-time All-Defensive guard.
The top 12 players from each conference are selected to play in the game through a combination of fan, player, and coach voting. Last year, seven of the 12 in the East were guards.
Realistically, Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Jalen Brunson, Cade Cunningham, and Trae Young all should be favored over White in the guard department. The other two guards selected were Damian Lillard, who just got traded out West to the Portland Trail Blazers, and Tyler Herro, who could make it again, but who knows.
Tyrese Haliburton, who was not named to last season’s squad, would be a real competitor to White if he weren’t injured. Aside from the names mentioned, Tyrese Maxey is a real threat, and maybe LaMelo Ball is due for a selection, but there aren’t many more who should immediately leapfrog the Celtics guard.
If White were to earn the honor, he’d have to do just that, earn it. As mentioned above, he’ll have to increase his stats a bit to be in that conversation. With that being said, the media loves a narrative, myself included. If White is all of a sudden playing at a higher level with Tatum sidelined, that’ll be a significant story and should generate buzz around a potential All-Star appearance.