Boston.com's Tom Westerholm believes that talk of a Boston Celtics Big Three overlooks what Derrick White brings to the team, despite not having the most eye-popping stat line on most nights, December 8's 133-123 Celtics win over the Knicks notwithstanding -- opting to believe the Cs have a Big Four if anything.
"You can’t safely call Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis a 'Big Three' because Derrick White should really be included in any discussion of the Celtics’ best players even if his stats don’t always pop," Westerholm wrote.
"On Friday, however, they popped: White poured in 30 points on 10-for-16 shooting and made 6-for-10 from deep. He added three rebounds and three assists as well as two steals and two blocks, and he drew MVP chants at the free throw line late, which White called “crazy” afterward."
Derrick White a leader in several major stat categories for Boston Celtics
White is undoubtedly a star for the Celtics, leading the Eastern Conference's top team in assists (5.2) as of this writing, while being right behind Jaylen Brown in steals (1.1) per game. He's a top-four scorer for Boston, and is the only other 40+% shooter from beyond the arc besides Sam Hauser.
Big Three, Big Four, whatever boat you want to put him in needs to reflect the Celtics being the current betting favorite has a large part to do with White's presence on the team. Let's not forget the 2022 Finals run and the near-Finals run again in 2023 after Boston brought White to a team that was starting to turn a corner, but struggled for the better part of a year and a half before his arrival.
If the Cs can close the deal this coming June and raise Banner 18 in the fall, expect White to be signed onto a long-term deal to stay in Boston. And perhaps another one after that.