Derrick White’s Candid Admission On Jayson Tatum’s Constant Sideline Presence

Jayson Tatum’s injury in the 2025 NBA playoffs spilled milk over the Boston Celtics’ plans for the 2025-26 season. With a team’s star player effectively ruled out for the whole campaign, there’s little they can dream about. Still, Tatum is at the TD Garden almost every night by the bench, cheering his teammates on as they hold the fort down.

The Celtics are currently having a .500-esque season. They’re not terrible without Tatum, but nowhere close to being as dominant as they were just a year ago. Boston is currently 7-7 after their win over the Clippers earlier today, and is 11th in the East.

It looks like a play-in position would be most realistic for the Celtics, and Tatum will most likely still be there, present on the sidelines. Derrick White, who has averaged 15.5 ppg this season, recently spoke about the 2024 Finals MVP’s impact on the team.

White started with a joke when asked about Tatum’s role. This topic came up for discussion after a video of Tatum coaching Jordan Walsh during a timeout against the Clippers got viral. “He’s just annoying me,” said White.

Quickly turning serious, White admitted, “Obviously a great basketball mind. So just there, supporting us, telling us what he sees, encouraging us, just a bunch of other things throughout the game. So it is always great to have something like that.”

It is always special motivation for others on a roster to see their injured star come out every single night and help them get better. It is one of the true hallmarks of being a good leader and shows how much Tatum cares about the Celtics.

Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla, in an interview discussing Tatum’s season so far, said, “He has done a great job. Obviously, his ability to lead on the court has been taken away. He has done a great job leading off the court with the work ethic of his recovery.”

Other teammates, including Tatum’s deputy of sorts, Jaylen Brown, have also praised Tatum for being a strong leader, which is something that has kept the Celtics going during his on-court absence.

 

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Tatum’s recovery is reportedly going well, and although nothing is guaranteed, there is a chance he returns before the postseason, which could be just enough time for him to lead them past the play-ins.