Despite not being an All-Star nor being selected into any All-NBA teams, Derrick White is slated to make a promising headway in his basketball career as he will suit up for Team USA with the hopes of boosting their chances of winning – just as he helped the Boston Celtics improve their odds of securing the 2024 NBA title last season, and this seems to be the perfect chance for him to improve at the highest level.

A flexible player who can have a two-way role in the squad, White comes off as a promising addition to the team after Los Angeles Clippers star forward Kawhi Leonard failed to commit to the team due to his health issues. This prompted Team USA to bring in a new player who can address their needs well as soon as the team made some scrimmages and found out what they need to improve on.

White becomes the third Celtics player to join the roster of Team USA, with Jayson Tatum headlining the squad along with Jrue Holiday, who the Celtics added into the squad in the previous offseason, which marked their huge upgrade towards the championship.

A Rare Chance at the International Stage

Clearly, White was not even a first choice for Team USA to begin with. The Celtics guard was slated to be taking his vacation in Cabo when he was called up by the team to play in the Olympics. In the 2023-24 season, White averaged 15.2 points, 5.2 assists, and 4.2 rebounds per game while shooting a staggering 46.1% from the field, including 39.6% from deep, and his impressive role as a support player makes him a key addition to the squad.

White, so far, has been optimistic about their chances and what he can do for the team to improve in any department they need to work out on. So far, White will definitely be a huge addition to a squad that already has a handful of star players from all over the United States.

“I just want to go out there and do what I do, try to fill any holes we might have,” he said. “I’m obviously playing with Jrue (Holiday) and JT again. It will be a lot of fun. Just looking forward to getting out there.”

A Late Bloomer in Basketball

Not all players get the chance they need to rise to the big stage in their careers. For White, he can be seen as a late bloomer in the game as it took him a lot of years before he actually made some big strides in his career. Originally playing for the San Antonio Spurs, White learned a lot from former USA coach Gregg Popovich before he was traded to the Celtics two years ago.

No one ever realized it, but it was this previous season when White’s value became too much to lose for the Celtics as he played a huge role in weaving the Celtics’ championship campaign. And it cannot be denied that White will be seeing a familiar role with the current setup of Team USA.

From being a role player to being a starter with Boston, now White is definitely living the dream as one of the new Olympians that the United States is set to field in the coming Paris Olympics soon.