Professional athletes may seem like these genetically enhanced superhumans, but they are human beings just like anyone else. They go through the same emotions, hardships and struggles that any other person experiences. Boston Celtics star Derrick White is the perfect example of this. He, in fact, once found himself at a crossroads between his team and his family.
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Derrick White and his wife, Hannah Schneider, were expecting their son Hendrick ahead of the 2021-22 NBA season. Hendrick’s due date was May 22, 2022. White began the season with the San Antonio Spurs, who were on pace to miss the playoffs. If that were to be the case, he wouldn’t have any issues in regard to being present for the birth of his first child.
On February 10, the Spurs traded White to the Celtics, which put his entire plans up in the air.
“We got our room and everything in San Antonio,” White revealed on the White Noise Podcast. “We get traded to Boston. Now everything changes. We find a different doctor there.”
White understood that the team ideology was different with the Celtics. They had intentions of competing for an NBA championship. Fast forward to May, and the Boston Celtics are getting ready to face the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals.
It seemed like the basketball gods were on White’s side since their schedule had a break in between games on Hendrick’s due date. Of course, life doesn’t always work out in the way most convenient.
“We’re playing in Miami on May 17th and the 19th. Our due date is the 20th, so that’s perfect. ‘Cause you always think it’s just going to happen on the due date,” White said.
As a result, White lowered his sense of urgency while in Miami, thinking everything would be alright. He would be in for a rude awakening on May 19.
“Hannah’s calling me but I’m not picking up. I’m asleep. She’s calling and texting me at 5 AM. She’s like, ‘I don’t know, something’s wrong. We’re going to head to the doctors,'” White revealed
It wasn’t until nearly 7 in the morning that White finally woke up. Hannah reiterated what the situation was to Derrick. He quickly asked, ‘Do you want me to get a flight?’ His wife urged him to wait until the doctors could provide more details about her circumstances.
“Then she’s like, she’s pretty far along. I called Brad, and I was like, ‘I need to go. Hannah is in labor.’ He’s like ‘Alright,'” White said. Unsure how much longer he had until Hannah began to give birth, White did everything he could to get to Boston as fast as possible.
“There was a flight leaving Miami in 45 minutes at this time. We try to book it, but you can’t book a ticket under an hour,” White said.
The only thing playing in the 6-foot-4 guard’s head was thoughts wondering how he was going to make it to Boston. His next course of action was to head directly to the Miami International Airport. “I’m talking to them like, ‘Please let me go. My wife is in labor. I’m trying to get back to Boston.’ She’s like, ‘There’s nothing we can do,'” White added.
Plan B turned his focus to Fort Lauderdale, where he was able to get a ticket for a flight back to Boston. Things seemed to be back on track until he got one specific message.
“I’m flying and then [Hannah’s mother] is like, ‘I think she’s going to start pushing now,'” White recalled. There was nothing he could do but support his wife from the air. At 12:11 PM, his son Hendrick was born, while he landed in Boston at 1 PM.
After all that hassle, White eventually made it to his wife and got to see his son. The Celtics still had a game that same night, which White wasn’t able to suit up for. His teammates held things down, winning Game 2 by a score of 127-102 to tie the series.
White would return with the team from Game 3 onward to help lead the Celtics to the 2022 NBA Finals.
