Derrick White doesn’t get the credit he deserves from the national media and NBA fans outside of Boston for how important he is to the Celtics’ success.
But his peers definitely recognize his value.
The Athletic on Tuesday released the results of its annual player poll. A total of 158 players (at least one from every team) were polled on a bunch of questions, including which team will win the 2025 NBA Finals, the most deserving MVP candidate, most overrated player, most underrated player, and several others.
White was tied with Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams for the most underrated player in the league in last year’s poll. In 2025, he came in second place behind Detroit Pistons point guard Cade Cunningham. White received 7.4 percent of the vote, while Cunningham got 8.8 percent.
White averaged a career-high 16.4 points, along with 4.8 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game this season. He scored a team-leading 30 points on 10-for-18 shooting (7-for-12 from 3-point range) in Game 1 of the Celtics’ first-round playoff series versus the Orlando Magic on Sunday.
The veteran point guard wasn’t the only Celtics player who received votes in The Athletic’s poll for most underrated.
Celtics guard Jrue Holiday was tied for fifth place with 2.9 percent of the vote. C’s guard Payton Pritchard was one of six players in the next tier at 2.2 percent of the vote. Superstar forwards Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum received 1.5 percent each.
The Celtics were well-represented in other areas of the poll, too.
When asked which team will win the title this season, 57.7 percent of players voted for the Celtics. The Oklahoma City Thunder were second at 17.5 percent. Players weren’t allowed to vote for their own team.
Boston also came in third place (15.3 percent) for “best organization” behind the Thunder (17.5 percent) and Golden State Warriors (21.9 percent).
Joe Mazzulla received the fourth-most votes for best coach in the league.
“There are little things he takes advantage of,” one player said of Mazzulla, per The Athletic. “It seems like he thinks about the game very strategically. He takes advantage of every single, tiny, little thing that he can.”
Game 2 of Celtics-Magic is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday. Full coverage on NBC Sports Boston starts at 6 p.m. with Celtics Pregame Live.
