Meet Derrick White, The Celtics’ NBA Playoffs Hero Who Defeated Miami Heat

Derrick White has become an unexpected NBA star overnight after leading the Celtics to a stunning Game 6 victory by beating the buzzer at the smallest of margins. The Boston Celtics took over the game in a miraculous manner on Saturday night with a tip-in from White with 0.1 seconds left to win Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals, 104-103. After falling down 3-0 to the Miami Heat, the Boston Celtics have now evened the series at 3-3 and forced a Game 7 on Monday, reports CBSSports. 

News outlet Mass Live has compared White's historic shot with Dave Roberts’ stolen base, Adam Vinatieri’s snow kick, or John Havlicek stealing the ball. White was equally thrilled to "win the game" for the day, and he said, “Season was on the line. We don’t want to go home, and so I was just happy we got the win.” According to Essentially Sports, the newly crowned hero of the NBA season has an estimated net worth of $2 million. 

White was born in Parker, Colorado in 1994. He was passionate about basketball since his school days at Legend High School from where he graduated in 2012, and he later led his college team during the 2015 NCAA tournament, successfully becoming an All-American. White continued playing three years of college basketball in Division II for the Colorado–Colorado Springs Mountain Lions before being transferred to the Division I Colorado Buffaloes for his final season.

During the 2017 NBA draft, he was drafted with the 29th overall pick by San Antonio Spurs. White then signed a lucrative 4-year, $8 million contract with the San Antonio Spurs, with an annual average salary of approximately $2 million. According to First Sportz, during his current season as a Celtics guard, for the 2023-24 season, he will be earning $17,607,143 as base salary and occasionally bag a cap hit of $18,357,143. His contract extends to the end of the 2024-25 season. In 2025 White will become an Unrestricted Free Agent. 

The Boston Celtics player is married to Hannah Schneider, and the couple tied the knot on August 28, 2021. They have a one-year-old son, Hendrix James White. 

After winning against Miami Heat on Saturday, his teammates were all praise for the new NBA hero. “I’ll tell you one thing, man, if you don’t know who D-White is, you know who he is now,” said his fellow teammate Marcus Smart.

Jaylen Brown said, “It all happened so fast. I couldn’t really tell. Smart shot it and I thought it was good. And then Derrick White, like a flash of lightning, just came out of nowhere and saved the day, man. It was just an incredible play.” Jayson Tatum also expressed his surprise and said, “I’m still in disbelief. That s*** was crazy. But I'm glad we got another chance, another opportunity. It’s far from over. Still an uphill battle. But it feels good to give yourself another chance. Another opportunity.”