{"id":702660,"date":"2026-04-07T05:07:23","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T05:07:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/702660\/"},"modified":"2026-04-07T05:07:23","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T05:07:23","slug":"derrick-white-talks-beer-bostonians-and-a-celtics-playoff-run","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/702660\/","title":{"rendered":"Derrick White talks beer, Bostonians, and a Celtics playoff run"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBoston Celtics\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t“When you put on that Celtic uniform, you’re kind of judged on one thing.”<\/p>\n

\"Boston
\n\tDerrick White, Julian Edelman, Zdeno Chara, and Garrett Crochet were on hand for Samuel Adams’ launch part for their new line of beers on Saturday. Josh Reynolds\/AP Content Services for Sam Adams\t<\/p>\n

Derrick White hails from Colorado.<\/p>\n

But, the 31-year-old Celtics guard is feeling more and more like a Bostonian with every season spent playing on the parquet floor over on Causeway Street.<\/p>\n

Of course, playing a pivotal role in helping the Celtics raise a sought-after 18th championship banner up to the TD Garden rafters goes a long way toward ingratiating oneself to a sports-crazed market.<\/p>\n

Still, it\u2019s been White\u2019s lunch-pail approach and willingness to sacrifice both his teeth <\/a>and gaudy stat lines in the scorebook to help Boston pile on wins that has led to Boston embracing the 6-foot-4 guard as one of their own.\u200b<\/p>\n

On the court, White is the type of \u201cglue guy\u201d<\/a> who becomes a fan favorite in a city like Boston. \u200b<\/p>\n

And, away from the hardwood, White is doing his part to embrace his new locale.<\/p>\n

As part of a years-long partnership with Samuel Adams, White has dropped his R\u2019s<\/a>, banged a U-ey with a Duck Boat<\/a>, and taken a trip down the infamous \u201cBoston Cop Slide\u201d<\/a> at City Hall Plaza as an honorary Bostonian.<\/p>\n

There are still some things that White is getting used to in his adopted home.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s still bad,\u201d White said of the traffic on the way to TD Garden on game nights.<\/p>\n

But, as he basked in the cheers from fans at Banners on Causeway Street Saturday night, White expressed gratitude for where his basketball journey has taken him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe crowd does a good job, like knowing the game \u2014 might be a little different from other fan bases,\u201d White told Boston.com on Saturday. \u201cIt might not be the person who scores. It might just be the little plays, and that\u2019s what I try to do out there. And so I think that\u2019s kind of how we connected, and it\u2019s kind of grown from there.\u201d<\/p>\n

White was on hand Saturday to celebrate Sam Adams\u2019 new \u201cOur City. Our Beer.\u201d line of libations \u2014 with the Celtics guard one of four Boston sports stars to have his own beverage brewed in his honor.<\/p>\n

Three-time Super Bowl champion Julian Edelman (Edel-Brau Lager), former Bruins captain Zdeno Chara (Big Z Pilsner), and Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet (Crochet\u2019s Pale Ale) were present for Saturday\u2019s event \u2014 handing out cans behind the bar to fans and battling one another in ping-pong, Pop-A-Shot, and other arcade games.<\/p>\n

\"\"Derrick White battled Zdeno Chara in Pop-A-Shot on Saturday at Banners. (Josh Reynolds\/AP Content Services for Sam Adams)<\/p>\n

\u200b\u200b\u201cMine\u2019s been around for a little bit,\u201d White said of his beer, the (Derrick) White Ale. \u201cI\u2019ve tried the other ones. Crochet\u2019s might be my favorite one. But mine\u2019s good, I enjoy it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Sam Adams asked me what beer I wanted, I said I wanted something gritty,\u201d Edelman said of his lager, which paces the four brews with a 6.2 percent ABV. \u201cI couldn\u2019t be happier with the taste. It\u2019s like the first time I heard The Beatles.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chara, who recently had his No. 33 raised above the TD Garden ice<\/a>, countered Edelman\u2019s preference.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m the opposite of Jules. I asked for the least amount of alcohol \u2014 so that I can drink more,\u201d Chara said of his pilsner, which has an ABV of 5.0.<\/p>\n

Even if White has acknowledged on several occasions that he\u2019s not much of a beer drinker<\/a>, he\u2019s welcomed the opportunity to collaborate with Sam Adams \u2014 especially if it allows him to connect with a fanbase that has resonated with his play since he first arrived in Boston in February 2022.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the best place to play,\u201d White said of what makes Boston unique as a sports city. \u201cJust the crowd, the fans. Obviously, the teams are really successful, which I think heightens everything as well. It\u2019s great to be a part of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

White could further entrench himself as an icon in this city if he helps push the Celtics toward another title run this spring.<\/p>\n

Expectations were low entering the 2025-26 NBA season for Joe Mazzulla\u2019s club. Beyond the uncertainty regarding Jayson Tatum\u2019s return this season from a ruptured Achilles, Boston lost several stalwarts in Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, Jrue Holiday, and Luke Kornet this past offseason in order to alleviate cap-related constraints.<\/p>\n

With just four games to go in the regular season, Boston is currently sitting in second place in the Eastern Conference with a 53-25 record. With Tatum now back on the court and looking more and more like the franchise fixture<\/a> he\u2019s been for years, the Celtics are primed to be a contender once again in a wide-open conference.<\/p>\n

\u201cA little different from the last couple years, but the standard that we set as an organization is the same,\u201d White said of the Celtics outperforming expectations. \u201cEvery person that we\u2019ve put out there has done a lot of great things for us, and now we know what\u2019s up, what\u2019s coming up next, and it\u2019s just gonna keep getting bigger and bigger. We\u2019re going to need everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jaylen Brown\u2019s ascension as a legitimate MVP candidate and the emergence of several younger players further down the depth chart have played a key role in Boston snuffing out any shot of this season being a \u201cbridge year.\u201d<\/p>\n

But, White was quick to credit Mazzulla, even as Boston\u2019s head coach has recoiled at the thought of taking home the NBA Coach of the Year Award<\/a> in the coming months. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he\u2019s the best coach in the league,\u201d White said of Mazzulla. \u201cI don\u2019t know if he needs an award for that, but he\u2019s always just kept us ready. He\u2019s always believed in us. He\u2019s always kind of had us ready to go. People had doubts, but he never had any.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked about his favorite memory so far in Boston, White echoed a similar sentiment from Edelman and Chara \u2014 harping on the revelry that spills out on the streets when Duck Boats make their way down Boylston Street.<\/p>\n

White is looking to relieve that memory later on this summer with a Celtics squad that has continued to prove many wrong.<\/p>\n

\u200b\u201cObviously coming into the year with a lot of unknowns, a lot of questions, and obviously we\u2019ve surpassed a lot of those expectations,\u201d White said. \u201cBut when you put on that Celtic uniform, you\u2019re kind of judged on one thing. We\u2019ve got a lot more work to do, and that\u2019s what we\u2019re focusing on.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Profile\t<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.<\/p>\n

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