Celtics' Derrick White Reveals What Went Wrong With His 3-Point Shooting image
Celtics' Derrick White Reveals What Went Wrong With His 3-Point Shooting image
The Boston Celtics will be encouraged to hear that Derrick White has identified what went wrong with his shooting last season.
“I think I started off slow, and then it kind of messes your mind,” White said in a conversation with John Karalis of Celtics on SI.
“You start tweaking some things that you probably shouldn't need to tweak, and then it kind of just snowballs into what I had. So I think it starts with just having a good foundation, getting back to doing things that I've done my whole life and issue with confidence after that.”
White was a reliable 3-point shooter for the Celtics from 2022-23 through 2024-25. He still led Boston in 3-point attempts last season, but his accuracy dropped to 32.7 percent.
That was his second-lowest 3-point percentage in nine NBA seasons and his worst mark since joining the Celtics.
White's shooting struggles didn't stop him from shining defensively. He had arguably the best defensive season of his career in 2025-26, finishing sixth in Defensive Player of the Year voting and earning his first All-Defensive First Team selection. However, his shooting slump made him a less reliable scoring option alongside Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.
It didn't help that White's struggles continued in Boston's first-round playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers. He averaged 11.1 points per game while shooting just 27.3 percent from beyond the arc.
If White can regain his shooting touch, the Celtics will have another reason to be optimistic about the season ahead.
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