How one of Celtics’ rivals made White a better 3-point shooter originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Isaiah Thomas set the Boston Celtics record for most 3-pointers made in a season with 245 during the 2016-17 campaign. Three Celtics players are expected to break that record, and Derrick White became the first Monday night.
The veteran point guard needed two 3-pointers to pass Thomas, and he ended up going 3-for-11 in Boston’s 117-103 road win against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Jayson Tatum needs six more 3-pointers to surpass Thomas, while Payton Pritchard needs nine.
“We talked about it on the plane and it’s pretty cool that there’s three of us so close to doing something special,“ White told reporters after Monday’s win, as seen in the video player above.
”Honestly, looking back at my career, never thought I’d be in this position. Just thankful for the coaching staff, thankful for the guys on this team. I know I wouldn’t be able to do it without them. I’ll hold it for now until one of them breaks my record, so that’s cool.”
White breaking this record would have seemed pretty unrealistic when the C’s acquired him from the San Antonio Spurs shortly before the 2022 NBA trade deadline. White was a decent 3-point shooter with the Spurs but not prolific by any means. He never shot better than 36.6 percent from beyond the arc in San Antonio. He hasn’t shot below 38.1 percent in any of his full seasons with the Celtics.
What led to White’s huge improvement as a 3-point shooter? Well, it started after the 2022 NBA Finals loss to the Golden State Warriors, which he admits was a real low point in his career.
“After the Finals, I feel like that was the biggest summer of my life,” White told reporters in Memphis. “What happened in the Finals and how I was being guarded on that stage, it was one of my lowest points. I told Draymond (Green) after the (2024) Olympics, he kind of changed my life because they weren’t guarding me. So I had to go in that summer and me and my trainer, Marcus Mason, just focused on being consistent. And I think from that point, I just got better and better.”
White attempted 25 3-pointers in the 2022 Finals, and he made 10 of them. But five of those 3-point makes came in Game 1, and White shot 0-for-8 from beyond the arc in Games 3, 5 and 6 combined. He scored a total of three points on 1-for-10 shooting (0-for-5 from 3-point range) over the final two games (both losses).
White shot 30.6 percent on 3-pointers in 26 regular season games with the Celtics after the 2022 trade deadline. He improved to 38.1 percent in 2022-23, which was his first full season in Boston, and then he shot a career-high 39.6 percent last season to help lead the C’s to their 18th championship.
In fact, White’s 3-point shooting was a huge reason why the Celtics beat the Dallas Mavericks in the 2024 NBA Finals. In two years, White went from a player the Warriors dared to shoot to a player the Mavericks didn’t want to shoot.
Derrick White knocks down the 3!
Boston leads by 6 in Game 3 with under 3 minutes to play on ABC! pic.twitter.com/V8FgirBEIs
— NBA (@NBA) June 13, 2024
White’s improvement as an outside shooter has been quite impressive. His scoring, defense and reliability have made him one of the most valuable players on this Celtics team.
How one of Celtics’ rivals made White a better 3-point shooter
The 2022 NBA Finals was a turning point for Derrick White.
Isaiah Thomas set the Boston Celtics record for most 3-pointers made in a season with 245 during the 2016-17 campaign. Three Celtics players are expected to break that record, and Derrick White became the first Monday night.
The veteran point guard needed two 3-pointers to pass Thomas, and he ended up going 3-for-11 in Boston’s 117-103 road win against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Boston sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Jayson Tatum needs six more 3-pointers to surpass Thomas, while Payton Pritchard needs nine.
“We talked about it on the plane and it’s pretty cool that there’s three of us so close to doing something special,“ White told reporters after Monday’s win, as seen in the video player above.
”Honestly, looking back at my career, never thought I’d be in this position. Just thankful for the coaching staff, thankful for the guys on this team. I know I wouldn’t be able to do it without them. I’ll hold it for now until one of them breaks my record, so that’s cool.”
White breaking this record would have seemed pretty unrealistic when the C’s acquired him from the San Antonio Spurs shortly before the 2022 NBA trade deadline. White was a decent 3-point shooter with the Spurs but not prolific by any means. He never shot better than 36.6 percent from beyond the arc in San Antonio. He hasn’t shot below 38.1 percent in any of his full seasons with the Celtics.
More Celtics coverage
What led to White’s huge improvement as a 3-point shooter? Well, it started after the 2022 NBA Finals loss to the Golden State Warriors, which he admits was a real low point in his career.
“After the Finals, I feel like that was the biggest summer of my life,” White told reporters in Memphis. “What happened in the Finals and how I was being guarded on that stage, it was one of my lowest points. I told Draymond (Green) after the (2024) Olympics, he kind of changed my life because they weren’t guarding me. So I had to go in that summer and me and my trainer, Marcus Mason, just focused on being consistent. And I think from that point, I just got better and better.”
White attempted 25 3-pointers in the 2022 Finals, and he made 10 of them. But five of those 3-point makes came in Game 1, and White shot 0-for-8 from beyond the arc in Games 3, 5 and 6 combined. He scored a total of three points on 1-for-10 shooting (0-for-5 from 3-point range) over the final two games (both losses).
White shot 30.6 percent on 3-pointers in 26 regular season games with the Celtics after the 2022 trade deadline. He improved to 38.1 percent in 2022-23, which was his first full season in Boston, and then he shot a career-high 39.6 percent last season to help lead the C’s to their 18th championship.
In fact, White’s 3-point shooting was a huge reason why the Celtics beat the Dallas Mavericks in the 2024 NBA Finals. In two years, White went from a player the Warriors dared to shoot to a player the Mavericks didn’t want to shoot.
Derrick White knocks down the 3!
Boston leads by 6 in Game 3 with under 3 minutes to play on ABC! pic.twitter.com/V8FgirBEIs
— NBA (@NBA)
White’s improvement as an outside shooter has been quite impressive. His scoring, defense and reliability have made him one of the most valuable players on this Celtics team.
