When Derrick White revealed how everyone passed on him due to his and how he considered enrolling in business studies
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Derrick White has been excellent for the Cs with his defense and playmaking, in particular, taking the cake. The former Spur, especially in the latter part of the Playoffs so far, has been a real difference-maker.
It will definitely remain a question once the season is over as to how the Celtics would have fared hadn’t they traded for him. The Cs realized that playmaking in particular is an issue earlier in the season. They didn’t have any pure point guards on their roster.
As a result, the Celtics struggled earlier in the season. Dennis Schroder and Payton Pritchard were serviceable at best. It is then that Boston pulled the trigger and made the move for Derrick White.
With the addition of White, the team transcended into one of the best teams in the league. While no one at the time expected that to be the defining trade of the season with stars like James Harden, Ben Simmons, and Domantas Sabonis also being on the move, it has proven to be the most influential trade for the season in hindsight.
However, there was a possibility at some point that Derrick White would not even be in the NBA.
Why was there a doubt about Derrick White making the NBA?
Growing up, White was extremely undersized. White dunked a basketball for the first time in his senior year of high school, which is unheard of for an NBA player.
His father had to enlist all colleges which had guards graduating to try getting White a roster spot. He did not even receive scholarship offers.
In an incredible turn of events from not even having a scholarship entering college, White made it to the NBA as a first-round pick by the San Antonio Spurs.
When asked about his journey White revealed how everyone passed on him due to his size. He went on to describe how he considered going to college and enrolling in business studies as a career.
If it weren’t for a growth spurt late in his student days, White probably wouldn’t have made the NBA. Boston would not have had their stud point guard and would have possibly trended in a different direction.
White’s story shows how a bit of luck goes a long way into determining what you become. Thankfully for White and the Celtics, his fortune rocked him right on the path to basketball stardom and gave us the chance to see a student of the game succeed at his thing.
