Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson believes Derrick White played a pivotal role in helping the Boston Celtics stay highly competitive while Jayson Tatum was sidelined, according to Brian Robb of MassLive.
Atkinson emphasized that White’s overall impact often goes underappreciated, even though advanced metrics strongly highlight his value.
“Derrick White, he’s a top-five player in this league,” Atkinson said.
“I know no one says that in the standard media, but analytically, you look at all the advanced stuff, he’s (a) top-five player in the league, superstar. Jaylen [Brown] is obviously having a great year. [Neemias] Queta is analytically one of the top 30, probably.
“They have a lot of talent even without Jayson. So I think if you just kind of look, ‘Oh my gosh, Jayson Tatum’s out, they’re going to be terrible,’ I never bought into that.”
White has played 9 seasons for the Celtics and Spurs. He has averaged 13.5 points, 4.4 assists and 3.7 rebounds in 557 regular-season games.
He has won 1 NBA championship.
After an emotional season debut, Jayson Tatum is relieved to be back and playing normal basketball again. Story: https://t.co/3fkxDGzIwP
— Hoops Rumors (@HoopsRumors) March 11, 2026
