NBA FINALS: CELTICS VS. MAVERICKS

June 13, 2024

Derrick White

Boston Celtics

Practice Day

Q. Derrick, when you got traded here, do you remember the first conversations with Brad, anything about him and his pin-pointing you as someone to add to this group?

DERRICK WHITE: Yeah. He was excited for me to be here. I think he was like, I remember watching you when I was with the select team at USA, and I think he just saw something in me then, that he believed I could help us win games.

He's a great basketball mind, and it just goes to show you never really know who's watching.

Q. With your transition here, how important was having Will Hardy here, someone who knew you and knew the landscape. What are some things he told you that were better than you actually maybe thought once you got here?

DERRICK WHITE: I mean, I remember he told me about what it was going to be like to play for the Celtics and the crowd, the city, everything. It's just been so much better.

I love playing there and just competing in the TD Garden. Hardy was amazing for me. He's an amazing coach. I think he kind of undersold it a little bit.

Q. One of the things you've been able to do in your time in Boston is deliver in late-game clutch situations. Playing with a First Team All-NBA guy, another All-Star and a bunch of really good players, how do you set yourself apart to be able to have those opportunities to make those plays?

DERRICK WHITE: I mean, it's playing with great players. They put me in a position to be in those moments, and they trust me. Just try to be confident throughout it all and just trust the work that I've put in.

Q. What do you remember about facing Jrue Holiday as a competitor? What do you remember about him? Is he a big talker? What was he like to compete against?

DERRICK WHITE: I wouldn't say he was a big talker. He just gets it done. Both sides of the court, just his physicality, just impacts the game in so many different ways. Just does literally everything on the court, and just does it at a really high level.

Q. Was your impression of him altered not playing with him versus playing with him? Was it at all altered, your impression of him and what he was as a competitor?

DERRICK WHITE: No, I mean, you knew he was a big-time competitor. You don't guard the way he guards and not be a big-time competitor. But you don't really see all the little things he does until you see it like day in and day out and just the way he just impacts winning every second he's out there.

Q. You guys have closed out at every opportunity you've had so far in this postseason. That wasn't necessarily a strength of the team in prior seasons. What do you think has gone into your guys' ability to take advantage of that moment this time around?

DERRICK WHITE: I think we just locked in. I don't know exactly what it is. But we're just locked in. We know what's at stake. We understand that close-out games are the toughest, and we just come with an extra edge. It's going to be even harder tomorrow, and we've got to be even better.