How many points per game does Derrick White need to average next season to be a real candidate for Most Improved Player? And, yes, I know that sounds a little crazy considering he was one of the most important players on a team that won an NBA title just two years ago. But with Jayson Tatum sidelined and Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford elsewhere, the C's roster has undergone an overhaul that basically leaves White as the No. 2 scoring option behind Jaylen Brown.
If White bumps his scoring average to around 21 points per game (that would be +4.6 from his 2024-25 output, which was a career-high) and his assist numbers rise a little, too (around 6.5 per game could do the trick) it would suddenly be impossible to leave White out of the MIP race.
And it doesn't seem far-fetched to think White can achieve those numbers in his new, enhanced role in the Celtics backcourt alongside (for now) new addition Anfernee Simons. Every time White was given the keys, so to speak, whether it was due to someone on the team missing games with injury or otherwise, he excelled. He'll now have a chance to do that for a full season, and he and the rest of the C's won't have the pressure of championship expectations hanging over them. Why wouldn't he go out there and hoist 20-ish shots per game?
Losing Tatum, Porzongis, and Horford next season means the Celtics will lose about 40 field goal attempts per game. Even if you assume that Simons' workload will increase with the Celtics, and he takes 20 of those shots (Simons attempted 16.1 field goals per game last year) there's still, with very imperfect science, about 20 field goal attempts per game up for grabs. And would anyone in Celtics nation be mad if White took, like, all of those? I don't think so.
White is older than most Most Improved Player candidates
The last NBA player to win Most Improved after turning 30 was... Darrell Armstrong in 1998-99 when he played for the Orlando Magic. If you're wondering, he went from averaging 9.2 points per game to 13.8. Nice work, Darrell. Congratulations.
Now 31, White has potentially moved past the part of his career where large statistical bounds are expected. But it's been pretty clear the past few seasons that White could do more himself, he just hasn't needed to — he's played his role to perfection. Now, as his role is expected to increase considerably, White could really make a case for himself here if the efficiency stays about level while the counting stats shoot up.
It will be an uphill climb for him, though. Guys like Amen Thompson, Andrew Nembhard, Trey Murphy III, Jalen Johnson, etc. all have tons of low-hanging fruit as they start to figure out how to be stars in the NBA. White doesn't necessarily have that; he's already established himself as a really, really good NBA player.
But in a relative throwaway season for the Celtics, a Derrick White award campaign could be what keeps fans interested for all 82 — and the more I talk about it, the more I believe it could happen.