Hometown hero Derrick White could use his strong form this season to earn a spot on the U.S. Olympic team for this summer’s Paris Olympics, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports.
White started 73 regular season games and all 18 playoff games so far for the NBA’s powerhouse Boston Celtics, earning him a spot on the All-Defensive Team for the second consecutive year. During the regular season, White’s numbers improved across the board, averaging 15.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1 steal and 1.2 blocks per game while shooting 40% from three-point range. White’s numbers improved again in the postseason, and he finished the season looking like he could win a championship ring with the Celtics in the near future.
“We’re hearing that Derrick White is a potential replacement for USA Basketball’s Summer Olympic team if the Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard doesn’t fully recover from the knee injury that caused his playoff season to end early,” Adrian Wojnarowski said on Friday’s NBA Countdown. “It’s definitely something USA Basketball is monitoring.”
The 32-year-old Leonard, a six-time All-Star, missed the final eight games of the season and four more in the playoffs because of inflammation in his right knee, which he had surgery on. He was one of the league’s best players when healthy, averaging 23.7 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game this season. Leonard has never played for the U.S. national team but practiced with the team before games in 2012.
Meanwhile, White’s tumultuous path to the top means he wasn’t even considered one of the top players to represent the country until recently, even though he played college basketball at Division II University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, just a few miles from the Olympic facilities. The overlooked prospect blossomed with the Mountain Lions before transferring to the University of Colorado, Boulder, where he starred for the Buffaloes and went on to the NBA. Unlike many of the players who grew up playing for Team USA’s youth teams, White didn’t join the program until 2018.
White replaces Leonard, a seven-time All-Defensive Team selection. He joins fellow Celtics teammates Jayson Tatum and July Holiday on a roster that includes LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry. The team will be led by Steve Kerr, with Grant Hill selecting the 12 players that will travel to France.
White is already one of 20 NBA players born in Colorado, one of 28 who played their high school years in the Centennial State and one of 29 who have played for the Buffaloes. If Leonard is unavailable and White is selected, he will join late Buffaloes stars Birdie Halldorson and Robert JanGerard as two University of Colorado Boulder alumni representing the U.S. national team in men’s basketball.
