Throughout Derrick White’s NBA career, the month of January hasn’t treated him kindly for whatever reason. According to Basketball Reference, White shoots his lowest percentage from three (33.8%) and second-lowest percentage overall (43.3%) after the turn of the new year.
The trend has continued in the early days of 2026. Through 11 appearances this month, White is shooting just 36.9% from the field and 24.7% from beyond the arc.
“If anyone is struggling, it has just as much to do with staff as it does the player,” Joe Mazzulla explained before Wednesday’s 119-104 win over the Indiana Pacers. “So always looking for opportunities to be able to impact that, and we just figure out ways to get better together.”
As Mazzulla and his staff work to find ways to reignite White’s hot hands, the two-time All-Defensive guard continues to do what he does best: impact winning.
White’s impact is so great that he was the first person that Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle mentioned when he was asked about his preseason expectations for this Celtics team.
“Derrick White is an All-Star,” Carlisle proclaimed. “He’s an All-Star player. I mean, the guy is 8th in the league in blocked shots.”
Think about how many things have gone right for the Celtics for them to be sitting second in the East midway through the season. Neemias Queta and Luka Garza have settled into rotation roles in the frontcourt, just about every new face Brad Stevens brought in over the summer has found a way to help the team win, and returning players have stepped their games up across the board.
White is beyond impactful, regardless of his shooting struggles
Yet, White was the first person Carlisle thought of, despite shooting a career-low from the field at 39.1%. Though scoring is typically the path to NBA stardom, it isn’t the only measure of a player’s ability to help his team win games.
“He’s not defined by shooting efficiency,” Mazzulla pointed out postgame. “I think it’s hard to recognize the other stuff, and it’s easy to notice the shooting inefficiencies because they’re right there.”
Even throughout his tough shooting month, the Celtics have outscored opponents by 101 points during White’s minutes. No other Boston player is in triple digits. The next closest is Sam Hauser with 90.
The story is the same for the season overall, as the 31-year-old is a +275 on the year.
White is obviously doing many things right while he’s on the floor for the Cs.
Mazzulla went on to bring attention to White’s decision making, his defensive versatility, and his overall motor which leads to game-changing plays. Though his offensive role has expanded with the significant personnel turnover in Boston, White is still racking up defensive stats at a career-best rate. His 1.3 steals and 1.5 blocks per game are the highest respective averages of his career.
”I think Derrick is a first-team All-Defense type of ballot, or maybe even Defensive Player of the Year,” Brown praised. “But on top of that, he contributes on offense, and that takes a lot more energy, a lot more effort to do night-to-night. And he’s healthy, he’s available.”
Ironically, White is getting the night off against the Brooklyn Nets Friday, but, it’s true. You can almost always count on him to be in the lineup for Boston. Since arriving in 2022, he’s played three full seasons with the Celtics. In all three, White has suited up in 73 or more matchups, which is a rare feat in today’s era of load management.
”You’ve got to give that respect to Derrick,” Brown added. “It’s not an easy job to do and play both ends of the ball at a high level for the duration of the season — and be available for a majority of the games. That’s extremely difficult. He’s been doing that for us all [year], and that has helped us be a second seed.”