Derrick White discusses love for Celtics and the City of Boston

Derrick White had himself quite the summer. After winning Banner 18 with the Boston Celtics, he captured his first Olympic gold medal with Team USA and signed a four-year, $125.9 million contract extension to stay in Beantown.

Celtics Media Day: Derrick White loves the Celtics

At Celtics Media Day, White talked about his love for the Celtics and how happy he is to call Boston his home moving forward.

“It was amazing,” White said. “I've been saying since I've been here that I didn’t want to go nowhere else. I just love playing for this organization with this team, this coaching staff, and for these fans. I was super excited for it (the extension) to get done, especially early in the summer… I love being here, and me and my family are super excited to be here for a while.”

White had a breakout 2023-24 season, setting career-highs in total points, assists, rebounds, blocks, and steals. He also averaged a career-best 2.7 threes per game at a 39.6% clip.

The Celtics fan favorite put his two-way brilliance on full display with his second consecutive All-Defensive campaign, and he finished eighth in Defensive Player of the Year voting. White led all guards in blocks per game with 1.2 rejections a night. He also recorded more total blocks than the likes of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jarrett Allen, and Bam Adebayo.

White didn’t hide his happiness on Media Day, perfectly summing up his summer with this brief answer to a question from the official NBA Twitter page:

"Championship, extension, gold medal. "

- Derrick White at Media Day

Derrick White talks dentist visits and Colorado incident

In Game 5 of the NBA Finals, White hit the floor face-first in an unlucky sequence of events as Dallas Mavericks big man Dereck Lively II accidentally landed on him diving for a loose ball. At the trophy presentation later that evening, White told Lisa Salters, “I’d lose all my teeth for a championship.”

At Media Day, White gave a humorous update on his teeth.

“My teeth are getting better,” White said. “I had to go to the dentist on a Friday and got three root canals so that was fun. I think I gotta go like one more time to the dentist, and then I should be done for good.”

White was recently involved in an unfortunate incident at the Colorado vs. Colorado State football game, where an angry fan threw a punch at him. At his Media Day presser, White cleared up that the fan had thankfully knocked his hat off without actually hitting his head.

The 30-year-old called the incident “unfortunate” and said it was a situation he never thought he would be in. Most Celtics fans were surely surprised to see White so fired up and involved in such an incident, given his typically laid-back disposition.

With the Celtics favored to repeat as champions, White will look to build upon his amazing playoff run. He averaged 16.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.2 blocks, and 0.9 steals while nailing 3.4 threes per game on 40.4% shooting. White also shot 45.2% from the field and 92.1% from the free throw line during the postseason.

White delivered a career-best performance in the first round, destroying the Miami Heat with a 38-point explosion on the road in Game 4. He also made one of the most important plays of the Finals with an epic chase-down block on PJ Washington in the final minute of Game 2.

Needless to say, the Celtics and their fans are thrilled to welcome White back on a long-term deal. White loves Boston, and Boston loves him too.