2025 Awards Series Defensive Player of the Year: Derrick White

It’s awards season at Celtics.com! We’re handing out six awards throughout the middle of June as we roll through this year’s Celtics.com Awards Series. We may not have trophies or acceptance speeches, but we do have some top-flight Celtics performances to outline. Here we go...

With the fourth-ranked defense in the league, we had several viable candidates for our Defensive Player of the Year Award. But we had to hand it to the guy who solidified his status as the best shot-blocking guard in NBA history: Derrick White.

For the third straight season, White led all NBA guards in blocked shots, swatting a total of 80 shot attempts. He also led the Celtics in that department, a remarkable feat for a 6-foot-4 guard among multiple 7-foot teammates. No other non-center on the team recorded more than 38 blocks, and no other Celtic guard had more than 27.

White maintained his career average of 1.6 blocks per 100 possessions, which is the all-time leading mark among NBA guards who have played at least 400 games.

The eight-year veteran also came close to leading the team in steals. He snagged 72 balls from the opposition, finishing one steal shy of Jaylen Brown, and four shy of team leader Jayson Tatum. 

It marked the third consecutive season in which White recorded at least 75 blocks and 50 steals. Only three other guards in NBA history have had three such seasons in their careers, let alone three straight. The others were Michael Jordan with four, Dwyane Wade with four, and Celtics Legend Reggie Lewis with three.

With all of those blocks, it came as no surprise to see White high on the shot contests leaderboard, as well. He was the only guard in the league to contest at least 500 shots, finishing with 530. The closest to him was Atlanta’s All-Defensive First Teamer Dyson Daniels with 461. 

Of White’s 530 contests, 315 came from inside the arc. No other guard came remotely close to that number; second place belonged to Dallas’ Max Christie, who had 259. White also came close to leading all guards in 3-point contests. He ranked third in that category with 215, just two behind Daniels and 10 behind New York’s Josh Hart.

Even while putting so much focus on contesting shots, White still managed to make a strong impact on the boards, as well. He ranked fourth on the Celtics with 274 defensive rebounds, finishing just 12 behind Brown and 16 behind Al Horford. Tatum dominated that category with 575 defensive boards. 

Despite ranking high in so many categories, White was left off the NBA’s All-Defensive Teams for the first time since 2022. He was the only Celtic to receive any All-Defensive support, earning two First Team votes and 11 Second Team votes. He also received one second-place vote for the league’s Defensive Player of the Year, which was won by Cleveland big man Evan Mobley.

While he may have been snubbed from a leaguewide perspective, there’s no snubbing him here. He’s been the Celtics’ most impactful defender since arriving in Boston three and a half years ago, spearheading them to four straight top-five defensive ratings. He has put up historic shot-blocking numbers for a guard. And he is our Defensive Player of the Year.