One of the greatest constants in Boston Celtics history is that their best teams always feature an elite floor general.
Hall of Fame point guards like Bob Cousy, K.C. Jones, Tiny Archibald, and Dennis Johnson anchored championship cores. Even in Boston’s recent return to glory, the acquisition of Isaiah Thomas jump-started the rebuild. Marcus Smart’s hustle and heart helped build a winning culture. And finally, Jrue Holiday’s defensive mastery and leadership pushed the Celtics over the edge en route to the franchise’s 18th championship in 2024.
Then, following Jayson Tatum’s torn Achilles and an upcoming $500 million payroll, Boston’s front office made the difficult decision to trim salary. That included Holiday’s departure, leaving the point guard position up for grabs.
Many assumed Boston would eventually have to go out and find Holiday’s successor to preserve its championship infrastructure. However, four months into the 2025-26 season, it’s clear the Celtics already have their next great point guard in-house — as Derrick White is thriving in his new role at the helm.
White’s Limited Point Guard Experience
White’s NBA experience as a lead guard was minimal entering the Celtics’ alleged “Gap Year”.
Aside from one season starting for the San Antonio Spurs in 2018-19, White played as an off-ball guard for most of his career. Even in that season in which he started 55 games at point guard, he wasn’t shouldering significant playmaking responsibilities. He played alongside DeMar DeRozan, a ball-centric wing, who logged a 30.7% usage rate while averaging 6.2 assists per game.
White’s ascension to prominent playing time was as an off-ball guard. He developed into one of the league’s best defensive playmakers and off-ball shooters, making him a perfect fit for the Celtics. He excelled playing off of Tatum and Jaylen Brown. So, when Boston added Holiday to the roster, it formed one of the NBA’s premier backcourts.
But without Tatum and Holiday this season, White once again had an opportunity to become a lead guard. And he’s not letting it go to waste.
The Key to Boston’s Success
As of Feb. 23, the Celtics boast a 120.1 offensive rating. That ranks second in the NBA this season and fifth among all teams over the past three years.
Despite losing nearly half of last season’s scoring production, they’ve been able to maintain elite efficiency. Head coach Joe Mazzulla has helped them do so by placing heavy emphasis on the possession game — winning the turnover and rebounding margins to create more scoring opportunities than their opponents.
“It’s gotta be connected basketball,” Mazzulla said back in October. “We gotta force turnovers, we have to rebound on both ends of the floor, and then I think shooting is a plus.”
The Celtics have carried that philosophy through the season. They rank second in turnover rate and fourth in rebounding rate. As a result, Boston is attempting 91.3 field goals per game, third-most in the league. Meanwhile, they’re holding their opponents to just 86.8 attempts, fifth-best among any defense.
It’s taken a full-team effort to reach these standards with players contributing in various areas. For White, his passing and possession protection are vital to the Celtics’ success.
Efficiency Through Ball Security
When it comes to maximizing possessions, White has been Boston’s stabilizing force. He’s distributing the ball to teammates while minimizing mistakes.
He’s averaging a career-high 5.7 assists per game as the Celtics’ leading playmaker. Diving more into the numbers, he ranks eighth in the NBA in passes made per game. The fact that he’s doing so while boasting just a 9.3% turnover rate — his best mark since arriving in Boston — highlights his command of the position.
He is initiating offense at the highest level of his career, both in volume and productivity. In turn, the Celtics are one of the league’s most elite offenses.
Celtics Believe in White
Mazzulla’s confidence in White running point is exemplified by the team’s decision to trade Anfernee Simons at the 2026 deadline. The Celtics heavily relied on three guards through the first half of the season — White, Simons, and Payton Pritchard.
The Celtics chose to swap Simons for center help in Nikola Vučević, leaving White and Pritchard as the team’s lone point guard options for the remainder of the season. While Boston was likely influenced by the financial benefits of the trade, the decision to deal Simons away signaled organizational faith in the two remaining guards.
White and Pritchard have both been tasked with career-high usage rates, and they have struggled with shooting inefficiency. However, Boston’s front office saw enough to believe they can hold things down until Tatum’s return.
With the new-look roster, Mazzulla moved Pritchard to the bench and entrusted White with sole starting point guard duties. Pritchard, as the reigning Sixth Man of the Year, quickly adapted to the reserve role, further elevating his game.
White’s ability to handle lead-guard responsibilities was unproven. But in the seven games since the lineup change, White is averaging 7.3 assists with one of the best assist-to-turnover ratios in the NBA. It’s become clear that he’s up for the challenge.
Playing up to His Contract
Building a roster around two supermax contracts, given the current collective bargaining agreement, can be extremely difficult. Every contract matters now more than ever.
White is playing on the first season of a contract extension he signed in July 2024. He’s set to make over $30 million in the next two seasons and has a $34.8 million player option for 2028-29. For the immense value he brings as a complementary player, it would be an expensive contract to stomach if he couldn’t step up for an enhanced workload.
The question of whether White could manage those responsibilities may have existed entering this season. He has since answered that question emphatically.
Shooting Regression Amidst Role Expansion
With the roster turnover, more shots were going to be available to those who remained. For that reason, many expected White to take a leap as a scorer.
While he is averaging a career-high 17.0 points per game through 54 contests, he’s shooting a career-worst 38.8% from the field. His three-point shot, which has been elite in the past few years, has dipped to 32.1%.
He’s still shooting 35.4% on wide-open threes. That number hovered closer to 40% over his previous three seasons. For the Celtics to be the best version of themselves, he’ll need to rediscover that shooting touch. However, his efficiency hasn’t dipped to a level that outweighs the value he provides elsewhere.
Once Tatum returns to form and takes on his usual offensive creation workload, it’s reasonable to assume White can hone in on his shot once again and return to his usual form.
Could this efficiency regression be an indicator of a decline to come? It’s possible. More likely, though, it’s an aberration distracting from his continued defensive excellence and his tremendous growth as a playmaking point guard.
Boston’s Championship Core Is Intact
In a league where championship windows close quickly, the Celtics didn’t waste time finding their next floor general. They developed one immediately after losing Holiday. With White at the point, Boston’s front office can spend its newly-created cap space elsewhere instead of chasing a positional need.
Even without Tatum, the Celtics sit at 37–19, the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, and, for the first time in years, below the luxury tax threshold.
White has evolved from a high-level role player into a foundational piece. And once Tatum returns to join him, Jaylen Brown, and a thriving Payton Pritchard, Boston won’t just have survived a transition year — it will have strengthened its championship core.
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