The Boston Celtics have been one of the best stories in the NBA. Much of the credit for Boston’s phenomenal and surprising season has gone to head coach Joe Mazzulla and star forward Jaylen Brown. Mazzulla is a favorite for Coach of the Year as a result, while in Jayson Tatum’s absence, Brown has become an MVP candidate as he’s put up his best year.
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It really has been a team-wide effort that’s kept the Celtics going, though. Role players like Neemias Queta and Sam Hauser have been real contributors, and Payton Pritchard and Derrick White have been as good as any backcourt in the East.
White in particular has been the Celtics’ unsung hero. That’s been the case since they traded for him at the 2022 trade deadline. They Brown may have been the Finals MVP in 2024, but they don’t win it or even get to that point without White. He’s just a winning player, and with him and Brown together, it’s no wonder that Boston was able to not only survive but thrive without Tatum.
White appeared last night on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, and shared a story that really embodies how valuable he is to this team. “I’d been putting off going to the dentist for a while, and I had some teeth issue in the past,” he said. “So I go to the game, I get hit in the mouth, and I had a bridge on at the time, and it came out. So I just picked it up and went straight to the back.”
“I’m not a hockey player,” he continued, “So I had to figure out a way to glue it back together or figure it out, so they just kinda glued it and then I put a mouthpiece on and played the rest of the game, and eventually went to the dentist the next day.”
That incident happened last year against the 76ers, but it wasn’t the first time White’s had issues with his teeth during a game. He famously chipped his tooth while diving for a loose ball in Game 5 of the 2024 Finals, then inspired the team by draining a 3 and yelling as he ran back down the court, “F*** that tooth! We don’t need it!”
White is such a quiet, unassuming guy, which makes this story even funnier. It really goes to show though, that he’s all about doing whatever the team needs. If he can help lead the Celtics to another title this year, his dentist should probably get a ring, too.
