Derrick White, most underrated player in the NBA?

[jbk1234]

To an extend I agree. But there have been other All Stars who also served well on very good teams, but weren't or wouldn't have been as good to generate offense as a so called first option. There are numerous. Obviously many big men, but to keep the discussion honest we should only regard guards.

Rajon Rondo, Jeff Teague, Kyle Lowry, Goran Dragic, Mike Conley, Jrue Holiday, Klay Thompson, Fred VanVleet, D'Angelo Russell and Dejounte Murray have been All Star guards the last 10 years. They all needed or need a bigger star to carry the load to be very successful.

Prime Lowry, Jrue, and Klay were all legitimate all stars IMO, but I have all of them as better two-way players than White. White's offensive limitations are more pronounced. The Spurs ran their offense through Murray for a reason when they both shared a backcourt.

The rest of your list were basically one and done with all star appearances and got in as a result of better players being injured. As a Cavs fan, it would be great if White got in. There'd be no way the Celtics could afford to retain him.

I don't really care at all about the all star game or put much credence in all star selections precisely because a good deal of the selection process is arbitrary. It's worse with agents now running social media campaigns in order to get their clients payed. Having said all of that, I don't think really good role players, as critical as they can be to a team's success, should be making all star teams.

I love White as a player but I dont see a path to him being an All-Star, its a counting stats game and I cant see him beating out Haliburton, Trae, Maxey, Lillard, Mitchell, and Brunson (Nor do I think he should). I think that makes the guard spots pretty set, I assume Lamelo doesnt play enough but if he does you can toss him in there too. I agree ASG's are very arbitrary and a lot is about what conference/position/team success/injuries etc. But in general role players shouldnt make ASGs over guys that have to do more heavy lifting on offense. The league is just so different now too, 10 years ago 15 PPG could get you on a team (Kyle Korver) , but now? Even guys like Rozier, Garland, Coby White and Cade are averaging at or near 20 PPG and thats in the next tier of guards that probably wont be all stars.

Garland has already made an all star team and in addition to points, he always manages to post a ton of assists.

[FarBeyondDriven]

I think White is the best role player in the NBA. He's not a starting caliber guard at either position but he's the perfect combo guard that can play either role at a high level in spurts when the need arises. Granted, I haven't watched a ton of the Celtics except when they're televised but he seems to just go about his business and he always seems wide open, likely as a result of so much firepower on that team. I think he could put the Kings over the hump. He's exactly what I think we've needed for years.

[Up-And-Coming]

High impact player

[JJ_PR]

White's story is pretty impressive. He wasn't really on the NBA radar until a late growth spurt.

Celtics got him for absolute peanuts. Rare Spurs L.

[fallguy]

I think White is the best role player in the NBA. He's not a starting caliber guard at either position but he's the perfect combo guard that can play either role at a high level in spurts when the need arises. Granted, I haven't watched a ton of the Celtics except when they're televised but he seems to just go about his business and he always seems wide open, likely as a result of so much firepower on that team. I think he could put the Kings over the hump. He's exactly what I think we've needed for years.

Every number says you're wrong.

[RodyTur10]

The Celtics currently have the best record, but not enough is talked about their second most important player: Derrick White.

Derrick White is 14th in EPM, 19th in EW, 17th in BPM, 16th in WS, 20th in VORP and 4th in +/- in the league!
By all accounts White should be an All Star based on his performances.

White is an amazingly allround basketball player. He's good with on-ball and off-ball defense. He's a good passer, good driver and a good shooter. And all of this combined with a high BBIQ. There's no weakness in his game. Rare.

sources: https://dunksandthrees.com/epm and https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_2024_advanced.html

A short week later, my guy is climbing up after some glorious performances, Derrick White is now 9th in EPM(+5), 15th in EW(+4), 13th in BPM(+4), 12th in WS(+4), 14th in VORP(+6) and 4th in +/- in the league. Some stats have weird outliers, but the top 30 lists for EW and VORP show White in some good company. Again, sources: https://dunksandthrees.com/epm and https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_2024_advanced.html

EW top 30 in order

1. Embiid
2. Jokic
3. Gilgeous-Alexander
4. Antetokounmpo
5. Doncic
6. James
7. Davis
8. Leonard
9. Maxey
10. Young
11. Barnes
12. Lillard
13. Curry
14. Durant
15. White
16. Haliburton
17. Mitchell
18. Holmgren
19. George
20. Tatum
21. Brunson
22. Bane
23. Brown
24. Booker
25. Edwards
26. Towns
27. VanVleet
28. Randle
29. Fox
30. Bridges

VORP top 30 in order

1. Jokic
2. Embiid
3. Gilgeous-Alexander
4. Doncic
5. James
6. Antetokounmpo
7. Barnes
8. Haliburton
9. Leonard
10. Curry
11. Durant
12. Maxey
13. Davis
14. White
15. Brunson
16. Harden
17. Mitchell
18. Sabonis
19. Sengün
20. Tatum
21. Young
22. Lillard
23. VanVleet
24. Holmgren
25. Towns
26. Bane
27. Fox
28. George
29. Edwards
30. Porzingis

[PistolPeteJR]

So glad I got him in Fantasy

[JustBuzzin]

He's legit.

I think there is a legit argument he is the Celtics 3rd best player.

[Special_Puppy]

Derrick White not being considered a top 100 player by ESPN was laughable

[Wargreymon]

Alex Caruso is right there with him.

[Slim Charlez]

Love him and love seeing him ball out for a contender.

[RodyTur10]

Alex Caruso is right there with him.

Defensively yes. But offensively Caruso is quite limited.
Nonetheless I agree that Caruso has been underrated in the past.

[fallguy]

White out there smoking the fools who doubt him.

[Doctor MJ]

The Celtics currently have the best record, but not enough is talked about their second most important player: Derrick White.

Derrick White is 14th in EPM, 19th in EW, 17th in BPM, 16th in WS, 20th in VORP and 4th in +/- in the league!
By all accounts White should be an All Star based on his performances.

White is an amazingly allround basketball player. He's good with on-ball and off-ball defense. He's a good passer, good driver and a good shooter. And all of this combined with a high BBIQ. There's no weakness in his game. Rare.

sources: https://dunksandthrees.com/epm and https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_2024_advanced.html

I think people should consider what you say seriously and also consider:

We expect that the Celtics will have at least 2 all-stars, right? So why is it White shouldn't be one of them?

If the answer is "Because Brown is already that by default", well okay, but I think most would agree Brown's gotten overrated.

Porzingis & Holiday are also guys with serious cases of course and they're not all going to get it, but the idea that the team has 4 superior players ahead of White - which I think many assume to be the case - is far from clear cut.

[BleedGreen1989]

I think White is the best role player in the NBA. He's not a starting caliber guard at either position but he's the perfect combo guard that can play either role at a high level in spurts when the need arises. Granted, I haven't watched a ton of the Celtics except when they're televised but he seems to just go about his business and he always seems wide open, likely as a result of so much firepower on that team. I think he could put the Kings over the hump. He's exactly what I think we've needed for years.

Every number says you're wrong.

Yeah, very odd take. He’s already a plus starter on the best team in the league.

[Doctor MJ]

Alex Caruso is right there with him.

I think at this point people largely appreciate what Caruso is giving his team, it's just that there's only so much you can say accolade-wise about a guy spending more time on the bench than on the court for a team that really hasn't played well enough to expect any all-stars at all.

Now I'm perpetually wonder whether Caruso should be getting starter level minutes, but until he does, I think Caruso is getting adequate love from the broader basketball world.

[BleedGreen1989]

Alex Caruso is right there with him.

Defensively yes. But offensively Caruso is quite limited.
Nonetheless I agree that Caruso has been underrated in the past.

Offensively it’s not particularly close.

[CoP]

My favorite Celtic. He's arguably been the team's best overall player this season. JB and KP right there with him.

[Dirk]

My favorite Celtic. He's arguably been the team's best overall player this season. JB and KP right there with him.

For a mid team, the Cs have a lot of quality players.

[itrsteve]

He's legit.

I think there is a legit argument he is the Celtics 3rd best player.

The interesting part is that he’s normally their second best player on any given night. Who is at #1 just varies.