White stole skills from Manu Ginobili and Danny Green.
If you’ve seen Derrick White play basketball, then you’ve probably noticed that he’s fantastic on both ends of the court.
The guy is one of the toughest players to score on and he frequently makes smart plays on offence.
Take for example the game he recorded his first career triple-double.
In this game, where the Boston Celtics hosted the Detroit Pistons, he was a pest on the defensive end, where he constantly disrupted his opponent’s plays by sticking his hands into the passing lanes and contested shots.
He even chase-down blocked Malachi Flynn in one of the plays.
On the other end, he patiently waited to make the right plays, where he looked for cutting teammates and easy, open shots.
As a result, White recorded 22 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block in this match-up.
And he did all of that while playing a simple game.
So, how did he learn to play this way?
On an episode of The Young Man and the Three, he said he moulded his two-way game after San Antonio Spurs’ legends Manu Ginobili and Danny Green.
“I learned in San Antonio: Simple works. So, that’s my mindset, like, ‘What’s the easy play? What’s the right play?’” White said. “I think a big thing my rookie year was watching Manu [Ginobili] offensively and then watching Danny Green defensively. I think I just picked up a lot from those two in particular.”
White also talked about what he learned from Ginobili and Green.
“Manu was 40 at the end of his career; it was the last year of his career. And just the way he was able to get to the basket. Like, everybody always talking about the Eurostep and stuff, but there were just so many little things he did to get into that position. Just catching the ball on the run, setting up your defender. Just the little things he did. Like, he didn’t have the same explosive that he had when he was first in the league but he was still extremely effective at doing simple stuff. Obviously, he had his flare and everything after that but the simple is what really worked”
“And then Danny Green defensively like, when he sprinted back defensively, he didn’t just give up a layup… Always contesting shots, always making them think about it. I think that’s kind of underrated. Think it’s just contesting shots.”
White spent four-and-a-half seasons in San Antonio before being traded to the Boston Celtics.
In Beantown, he was named an All-Defensive Player twice and he played a crucial role in helping the Celtics win the 2024 NBA Championship Title.