Derrick White\u2019s elite shot-blocking talents earned him a spot on the NBA All-Defensive first team.<\/p>\n
It was the third career All-Defensive nod for the Celtics guard and his first time cracking the first team. The 31-year-old made second-team All-Defense in 2022-23 and \u201923-24.<\/p>\n
Joining White on the All-Defensive first team, which was announced Friday, were San Antonio\u2019s Victor Wembanyama, Oklahoma City\u2019s Chet Holmgren, Detroit\u2019s Ausar Thompson and Minnesota\u2019s Rudy Gobert. White finished sixth in voting for NBA Defensive Player of the Year, which Wembanyama won unanimously.<\/p>\n
White set career highs in both blocks (98) and steals (88) this season, ranking 13th in the NBA in the former despite standing just 6-foot-4. All 12 players above him are at least 6-foot-8, and 10 are 6-11 or taller. Those included 7-foot Celtics teammate Neemias Queta, who rejected just two more shots than White.<\/p>\n
Only three other players 6-foot-4 or shorter have notched 90-plus blocks and 80-plus steals in a season since the NBA began tracking those stats in 1973-74, according to Basketball-Reference: Hall of Famers Dwyane Wade (2008-09), Dennis Johnson (1978-79) and David Thompson (1977-78).<\/p>\n
White\u2019s seven blocks in a Dec. 30 win over Utah tied the NBA record for a guard<\/a>, which was last matched by Tracy McGrady in 2000. White later earned Eastern Conference Defensive Player of the Month honors for February and led all NBA guards in contested shots per game (7.2), ranking top-three in that metric for the fourth consecutive season.<\/p>\n Opposing coaches routinely raved about White, with several calling him one of the league\u2019s most underrated players.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat a special player,\u201d New Orleans Pelicans interim head coach James Borrego said before an April matchup at TD Garden. \u201cI mean, just to see his impact on both ends of the floor, the confidence. I can\u2019t think of another player in recent history that has exceeded all of our expectations at such a high level. Like, this is a winning player at the highest level. That\u2019s a championship-level player that, I\u2019d say at the defensive end, is just elite.\u201d<\/p>\n Offensively, this was a challenging season for White. After setting the Celtics\u2019 single-season record for made 3-pointers in 2024-25, the veteran posted a career-worst 39.4% field-goal percentage and made just 32.7% of his threes. Both of those rates cratered in Boston\u2019s first-round playoff loss<\/a> to the Philadelphia 76ers, during which White shot 32.1% overall and 27.3% from deep.<\/p>\n Despite his shooting woes, White set career highs in points (16.5 per game) and assists (5.4) this season and ranked fourth in the league in total plus\/minus.<\/p>\n \u201cAnybody that ever doubts D-White, they don\u2019t really care about winning,\u201d Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said during the Sixers series<\/a>.<\/p>\n