ORLANDO — It was subtle. Not a red-hot start from deep or an unconscious shooting performance. Just the way he was moving on the court. In his first 12 minutes of action—he played the entire first quarter on Sunday night against the Orlando Magic—Derrick White looked like a different player than the guy who has been struggling to begin the 2025-26 Boston Celtics campaign.
He only shot 4-of-9 in the first quarter, including 2-of-5 from deep. But on a floater attempt at the 8:34 mark, something was different. White didn’t make the shot, but as he drove through the Magic’s defense, working off of Luka Garza, an aggressiveness flashed.
White’s confidence looked like it was back.
What does aggressive Derrick White look like?
White missed that shot, and he didn’t make his next one, either. But at the end of the quarter, he drove to the hoop for a layup. It wasn’t about the results of his shot attempts, it was the way he got to his spots.
Everything White was doing looked different from the White that has started the season. The timid version of himself that popped up time and time again faded away. In its place was the White that many Celtics fans expected to see.
The box score won’t show it. And through the first quarter, it didn’t. White was solid, accruing 11 points, but again, that wasn’t what stuck out. He was moving like a completely different player.
Even on the defensive end, where White hasn’t wavered despite his three-point struggles, his impact shined through. One one play, he tipped the ball away from Anthony Black, watched the Celtics fumble it away, and ran all the way down the other end to get possession back for Boston.
As his second-quarter minutes got underway, White made a tough middy in the lane, stopped a fast break, then drew an offensive foul on Paolo Banchero. All of the small winning plays he was making in the first continued.
For all of the missed threes and poor statistical nights, the most obvious problem going on with White early in the season was his confidence. He just looked unsure of himself.
That wasn’t the case on Sunday night. It looked like White was locked in from the jump on a different level than what has been present so far this year.
For the Celtics, that’s exactly what they’ve been waiting for. (And considering how incredible White has been for the past few years, they likely knew it was inevitable.)