Derrick White learned an important lesson from former Golden State Warriors star Klay Thompson.
The Boston Celtics finally crossed the final hurdle in the Eastern Conference as they took on the Golden State Warriors during the 2022 NBA Finals.
It was a battle between the Celtics’ young stars against the experienced veterans of the Warriors. Ultimately, the Dubs prevailed, thanks to a memorable run by Stephen Curry.
However, the defeat helped Derrick White learn a valuable lesson from then-Warriors star Klay Thompson.
Photo by Elsa/Getty ImagesDerrick White makes ‘never flinched’ admission about the Golden State Warriors
While the Warriors walked away with a 4-2 series win in the 2022 NBA Finals, their backs were against the wall during the first three games.
After all, heading into Game 4, the Celtics held a comfortable 2-1 lead over the Warriors. But that’s when the momentum of the series shifted towards the Warriors.
“They went down 2-1 and never flinched. Yeah. I remember Klay was like, ‘This kind of reminds me of ’15 or whatever,’ when they went down 2-1 against the [Cleveland] Cavs,” White recalled on the White Noise podcast.
As White pointed out, the Cleveland Cavaliers held a 2-1 lead over the Dubs during the 2015 NBA Finals. But the Warriors’ surprising tactic took even LeBron James by surprise.
“They’ve literally been exactly where we were, and never flinched,” White continued.
“And so, kind of just having to go through it and like, ‘Oh, if I’m not worried, we’ve been here, we’ve done this.We’ve won in this. We’ve lost in this situation,’” he added.
Derrick White says losing the 2022 NBA Finals was ‘invaluable’
Fast forward to the 2024 NBA Finals and the Celtics entered with an unbreakable spirit against the Dallas Mavericks.
The Celtics wrapped up the series in five games, but it would have never been possible without the 2022 Finals defeat at the hands of the Warriors, per White.
“And so I think having that experience is invaluable. Yeah. Then, we’ve had that experience of 22. So, when we won game one, ‘This game two was so important.’ We had already won game one before.
It’s like this different level of focus, different level of consistency that comes from experience,” White stated.
“It comes from knowing how to handle the highs and the lows and the ups and downs of a game, and it’s just being there before,” the Celtics guard concluded.
It’s certainly ironic how a defeat gave the Celtics the confidence to dominate in the 2024 NBA Finals as the team ended their 16-year championship drought.