Why NBA Experts Can't Agree How Good Celtics' Derrick White Is originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
We've reached the point of the NBA calendar where everyone is sharing their updated player rankings.
When it comes to the Boston Celtics, one thing has jumped out: Nobody can agree on how good Derrick White is.
CBS Sports, The Ringer, Bleacher Report, ESPN and Sporting News each have White in the top 50, but they disagree on where exactly he belongs. The Celtics guard ranks as high as the NBA's 33rd-best player and as low as the 50th.
Here's where White ranks by publication:
- CBS Sports: 33
- The Ringer: 43
- Bleacher Report: 46
- ESPN: 47
- Sporting News: 50
MORE:Celtics Rank Surprisingly Low In ESPN's 'Now or Later' NBA Rankings
Why NBA Experts Can't Agree How Good Derrick White Is
All five sites are on the same page about one thing: White's defense.
White is arguably the NBA's best defensive guard. He's earned three All-Defensive selections in his career, including first-team honors last season, and finished sixth in Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2025-26. He's a surprisingly good rim protector for his size and has the length to defend multiple positions.
The debate begins with how much stock to put into White's 3-point shooting slump.
White made 38.7 percent of his 3-point attempts between 2022-23 and 2024-25. He led the Celtics in 3-point attempts last season, but his accuracy dropped to 32.7 percent. That was his worst mark as a Celtic and the second-worst 3-point shooting season of his career.
ESPN's Bobby Marks noted that White "saw the largest drop in effective field goal percentage from 2024-25 to 2025-26" among qualified players.
That's obviously not a list anyone wants to lead.
MORE:Derrick White Reveals What Went Wrong With His 3-Point Shooting
His playoff shooting was even more concerning. White's scoring dropped to 11.1 points per game against the Philadelphia 76ers in the playoffs, and he made just 27.3 percent of his 3-point attempts.
CBS Sports, which ranked White higher than any of the other publications, acknowledged his shooting struggles, but also looked at the positives.
"He's the poster boy of Boston's high 3-point, low-turnover approach to offense, and even if his shooting dipped last year with an unusually high creation burden, his volume is in itself enormously valuable," CBS Sports' Sam Quinn wrote. "He doesn't do the obvious things. He doesn't score a lot of points. He's not a lockdown individual defender. But he impacts games in dozens of small ways that add up to more winning than plenty of players far more famous than he is."
Bleacher Report wrote that reactions to White's 3-point shooting "may have been overblown," but still wondered if his 3-pointer will return. It ranked him No. 46.
If White's 3-point shooting rebounds this season, the disagreement over his ranking probably won't be nearly as wide next year. But if his shooting struggles continue, the gap between those who view him as a top-35 player and those who see him closer to No. 50 could become even more pronounced.