The Boston Celtics are the best team in the NBA right now and leading the charge are the usual suspects, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
New acquisitions Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday also provide firepower both in offense and defense.
Derrick White completes the Celtics' juggernaut first five. And compared to the others, his name is making more noise for the upcoming All-Star Game.
The past week has seen campaigns from fans and former NBA players for the inclusion of White in the festivities to be held in Indiana.
Tatum and Brown will get their flowers for sure. Porzingis might get a nod, too. As for White, it is hard to tell right now.
Maybe the clamor will do it for him.
The most number of players sent by one team to an All-Star Game is four. It happened nine times and the Boston Celtics have done it in three seasons.
The last ones to do it were the Golden State Warriors. The Dubs had Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, and Klay Thompson in the 2017 and 2018 All-Star game. Curry and KD were starters in both instances.
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Warriors were the undeniable best team during those seasons and those four have been to ASG seasons before.
Can the 2023-2024 Celtics replicate what the Dubs did? Is Derrick White an All-Star?
What do people say about White?
JJ Redick is one of the high profile voice that campaigns for White.
"Of these 150 people who claim to be basketball experts, how is Derrick White not in the top 100?" Redick asked in his podcast 'The Old Man and the Three.
"How is that possible?
Greg Popovich, his coach from former team San Antonio Spurs, also commended him for the progress he's made since coming to the league in 2017.
"He's an innately good passer, for instance," Popovich said.
"And you could see it immediately, but he didn't think of himself that way. He was too humble, I guess, to start out. Now he's figured it out."
He is right. White is the Celtics' top assist man with 5.3 per game.
In their win against the Spurs, the crowd chanted "White's an All-Star" which his All-Star teammates joined in.
White is an All-Star
Tatum and Brown will get their flowers but White should be an All-Star.
The league is returning to the West vs East format and that means a more structured lineup for the two squads.
According to the rules, there should have an ASG squad should have two backcourt starters and two more among reserves. The team can also choose which positions to fill for their wild cards. This means the 2024 ASG can have at most six guards.
White will be competing with the likes of host city's Tyrese Haliburton, Jalen Brunson, Donovan Mitchell, Damian Lillard, and Trae Young for that spot. If the wild card is used for a guard, it should be White.
He has the numbers to back up his inclusion. He is Celtics' fourth-best scorer with 17 points per game. He also puts up 5.3 assists, 3.9 rebounds, 1.3 blocks and 1.2 steals per game while being on track to join the 50-40-90 club.
White flourishes as a fourth option while also taking care of the defense, guarding the best or second-best players of Eastern Conference opponents.
He is first in the NBA in net rating (15) and ninth in offensive rating (122.6).
These statistics should be enough to convince that he is the one that holds Celtics together and therefore, an All-Star call up should be in the works.
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