Is Boston Celtics guard Derrick White a top 50 player in the NBA for the 2024-25 season? This was the question posed in a recent article put together by Frank Urbina and Raul Barrigon of our sister site HoopsHype. The Colorado native put up 15.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 5.2 assists, and a steal per game in the NBA’s 2023-24 season while shooting 46.1% from the floor overall, and 39.6% from beyond the arc over the course of 73 games played.

It was also the season that he was held up by former podcaster and current Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick as one of the best role players in the league. “A fringe All-Star caliber type who excels in his role, … Celtics point guard Derrick White is a low-maintenance player who competes hard on both ends and helps his team win in ways not shown on the stat sheet” writes H/H. “White moves the ball well, is never stagnant and won’t take bad shots, which helps him fit in perfectly with star-studded teams like the Celtics.”

“That ability to be an elite role player even earned White a spot on the loaded 2024 USA Basketball team, no small accomplishment when you see just how stacked that roster was,” they add.

White is also an elite guard defender with good quickness laterally, great toughness and ridiculous shot-blocking chops that have helped turn him into the best shot-blocking guard the NBA has seen since a prime Dwyane Wade.

White ranked as nearly a Top 20 player in the NBA for 2023-24 according to VORP and BPM, and when you look back at the impact he made for what was an excellent Celtics team that season, it’s easy to see why. We expect more big things out of White in 2024-25.

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This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Is Celtics guard Derrick White a top 50 player in the NBA?