Derrick White does a little bit of everything for the Boston Celtics. He's an on-ball defensive specialist who moonlights as a rim protector, an unselfish off-ball guard who creates dribble penetration and excels as a facilitator, and a switchable defender who has never met a matchup he's unwilling to take on.
Unfortunately, after White's jump shot fell apart in 2025-26, the Celtics can't afford to overlook the manner in which his shot quality is dampening his otherwise spectacular impact on the team.
White was a victim of circumstance in 2025-26. Following the 2024-25 season, Boston parted with All-Stars Jrue Holiday, Al Horford, and Kristaps Porzingis, and didn't exactly make the most concerted effort to replace their contributions on either end of the floor.
To make matters worse, franchise player Jayson Tatum had sustained a ruptured Achilles tendon during the 2025 NBA Playoffs and missed all but 16 regular season games in 2025-26.
The perhaps inevitable result of said developments was White shouldering an uncharacteristically heavy workload on offense. His 14.4 field goal attempts per game comfortably cleared his previous career-high of 12.6, his 5.4 assists per game set another career-best, and his usage rate of 21.6 marked the first time since 2020-21 that he cleared 20.0.
With an elevated workload on offense and just as much, if not more, work to do on defense, White turned in the worst shooting season of his career at .394/.327/.902.
Derrick White's shot quality must improve for jumper to follow suit
Shot selection and the general quality of his attempts played a significant part in White's issues on offense. According to Basketball Index, he ranked in the 15th percentile in overall shot quality and the eighth percentile in three-point shot quality.
Considering White averaged 8.3 three-point field goal attempts per game, it was arguably inevitable that such low shot quality would derail his efficiency.
In 2025-26, the Celtics must facilitate a shift toward healthier shot selection. That starts with limiting White's responsibility in terms of self creation. For instance: In 2025-26, he averaged 4.0 pull-up threes per game—double the 2.0 he attempted during Boston's championship season in 2023-24 and 1.0 more than the 3.0 he put up in 2024-25.
Considering White shot 35.2 percent on 2.0 attempts in 2023-24 and dipped to 33.2 percent on 3.0 attempts in 2024-25 and 32.1 percent on 4.0 attempts in 2025-26, less appears to be more.
Furthermore, White ranked in the 38th percentile in self-created shot making efficiency in 2025-26. That was a stunning decline from his spot in the 97th percentile in 2024-25. That again places the emphasis on less being more, as well as the importance of getting him into a rhythm by creating chances for him.
The good news is that White shot at least 38.1 percent from beyond the arc in each of the three seasons prior to 2025-26. If the Celtics can help him improve his shot quality, he should get back to that level of efficiency.
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