Despite having the NBA’s third-best record at the All-Star Break, the Boston Celtics have only one All-Star representative this year: MVP candidate Jaylen Brown.
Several of Brown’s Celtics teammates were snubbed, including Payton Pritchard and Derrick White. They’ve both stepped up in Jayson Tatum’s absence and are established star players, but neither has made an All-Star team before.
White, who’s 31 and in his ninth NBA season, opened up about his latest All-Star miss on his “White Noise” podcast.
“I feel fine. I didn’t really expect to make it. And then, obviously, there’s been a lot of great players who made it, first-timers. So no knock on them, because they definitely deserve it. It’s a great accomplishment for everybody who made it, and I’m gonna enjoy my All-Star Break,” White said. “But yeah, it is what it is.”
White’s co-host, Alex Welsh, also revealed a message that White sent in their group text: “I don’t have All-Star numbers, just All-Star impact.”
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Despite the Eastern Conference being weaker this year with so many injuries to star players, White was still passed over.
It didn’t help that he suffered a brutal shooting slump over the last two months, shooting just 37.4% from the field and 29% from deep over his last 26 games. As a result, he has the worst shooting percentage and second-worst 3-point shooting percentage of his career.
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However, he’s still having a huge impact on Boston’s success with his elite defense, strong rebounding and passing, and clutch plays. Despite having the worst true shooting percentage and effective field goal percentage of his career, he still has the best estimated plus-minus of his career at 4.7, which ranks 11th in the NBA.
White’s contributions don’t always show up in the box score, which is a big reason why he’s so underrated around the league. However, the Celtics wouldn’t be where they are this season without him.
