“I don’t think it really has hit and settled in. This is a special group of guys, a special coaching staff that I’m just thankful to be a part of."
By Khari Thompson, The Boston Globe
At 2:20 in the morning, mere hours after he had gotten his face smashed into the TD Garden parquet floor diving for a loose ball, Derrick White walked into the locker room to grab an item or two that he had left behind.
The 6-foot-4-inch guard had to bend down to lift up the plastic covering that hung over the lockers to protect the players’ valuables from being soaked with champagne.
The party had died down, but the signs of a good time were all around him.
Four plastic storage bins full of empty beer cans and champagne bottles sat on the floor a few feet away from the Celtics logo. The smell of cigar smoke was a little bit fainter than it had been when players were taking puffs hours earlier. The speakers that had pumped bass-heavy hip-hop music into the room were silent.
White and a shirtless Jaden Springer were the only players left in the room at that point. It was a wild feeling, Springer said.
“It’s crazy,” he said. “You see the aftermath. A lot of turn-up. I’m just happy to get up out of here with an NBA championship under my belt. Had to celebrate with the guys.”
Earlier in the night, White took a swig from a champagne bottle and pretended to yank out the tooth he had chipped on the loose-ball play. NBC Sports Boston’s Abby Chin had a horrified look on her face as she watched. Once she could tell that he was joking, White shook his head and the bottle.
“How does it feel to be a champ?” a reporter asked.
White misheard the question.
“I love champagne,” he said, shimmying. “I love champagne.”
He danced with the Larry O’Brien Trophy as Drake songs blared from the speakers. His “NBA champions” hat was on backward. His goggles were around his neck. He paused to take a few selfies with those who wanted one.
“This is unreal,” White said at the podium. “I don’t think it really has hit and settled in. This is a special group of guys, a special coaching staff that I’m just thankful to be a part of. Yeah, it’s unreal. I’m just trying to enjoy the moment and not get too lit.”
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It was the culmination of a career-altering season, White said. He averaged 16.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 4.1 assists in 35.6 minutes per game this postseason, all career highs.
He praised coach Joe Mazzulla for believing that he could be a starter on this team. In the 2022 playoffs, White made only three starts and averaged about half as many points, as the run ended with a loss to the Warriors in the Finals.
He started every game this time around and was a major difference-maker.
“Man, I love Joe Mazzulla so much,” White said. “Coming off the year I had, and he gets the job, and he’s like, ‘You know what? I’m going to start you.’ Which I wasn’t expecting.
“He was like, ‘I believe in you and I trust in you. This is going to give you the confidence.’ And from that moment on, I think it’s changed my whole career. I’d do anything for him.”
White said the 2022 loss to the Warriors and last year’s Eastern Conference finals shortcoming against the Heat taught these Celtics what they needed to get the job done.
“Everything I’ve learned in the past two years just kind of prepared us for this,” White said. “They were trying to say we weren’t battle-tested. I’m like, what do you think the last two years was? Did that not mean nothing?
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“Just continue to work hard, learn a lot about each other, and stick together. It’s easy to point fingers and try to split up. But we stuck together — JT, JB, and we added Jrue and KP. Most of the core stuck together and believed in one another.”
These Celtics finally tasted champagne-flavored victory. It was strong, and it was sweet.
“Such a blessing to be a part of this roster,” White said. “They just drive me in so many different ways, from top to bottom. I’m just so thankful and grateful for each and every one of them. They made me a better player and made me a better person. The city of Boston, everything, has just been amazing for me.”
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