Derrick White has been incredible during the later part of this playoff run for the Boston Celtics and he continued in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

White finished with 21 points on 6-11 shooting (including five 3-pointers) and three assists in 32 minutes off the bench. He was incredible in his NBA Finals debut.

He became the first Celtics player to score 20 points off the bench in an NBA Finals game since Leon Powe in 2008.

Before the birth of his son Hendrix, White was averaging 6.7 points per game on 34.7 percent from the field and 23.7 percent from 3-point land in the playoffs.

Since the birth of his son Hendrix, White has averaged 13 points per game on 45.6 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from behind the arc. Simply amazing.

White, as always, was great on defense against the Warriors and didn’t allow the moment to be too big for him.

Derrick White guarded Steph on 17 possessions and allowed 5 points

He guarded Jordan Poole on 14 possessions and allowed 2 points

He guarded Klay Thompson on 12 possessions and allowed 0 points

— Dan Greenberg (@StoolGreenie) June 3, 2022

The Boston Celtics will need more games like this from White throughout the Finals. His efforts proved to be the difference maker in Game 1 and there’s no doubt about it.

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Photo Credit: David Butler II, USA TODAY