Boston Celtics guard Derrick White has accomplished a lot in his basketball career, winning everything from a gold medal to an NBA championship. Yet, the 31-year-old has failed to do something that various players across the league have: receive a technical foul.
White, who's known for being relatively mild-mannered, isn't one to complain to the referees. Many of his fellow NBAers differ from him in that regard, including Celtics teammate Jayson Tatum. In fact, Tatum had the fourth-most technical fouls of any player last season, and he's joked with White that he can't truly respect him until the officials gift him a tech, per the “White Noise Podcast.”
“There are guys on the team that have been giving me giving me hell about not having a technical foul,” White said with a smirk. “[Jayson Tatum] told me he doesn't respect me until I get a technical. We'll see. We'll see. Not against him, but I'm not going to go out of my way to get one… I'm going to get ejected.”
Derrick White jokes that Jayson Tatum is still waiting on him to get his first technical:
“JT told me he doesn’t respect me until I get a technical.”
He later teases Jordan Walsh for being the only player to get ejected during Summer League.
(Via the White Noise Podcast) pic.twitter.com/9WbVhYHFAL
— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) August 6, 2025
If getting T'd up is a rite of passage in the NBA, then Celtics wing Jordan Walsh officially became a vet this offseason. During a Summer League loss to the Miami Heat, Walsh earned two technical fouls, which qualifies for an ejection. White laughed about this on his podcast and poked some fun at the third-year Celtic.
“I think J-Walsh was the only person to get ejected in Summer League this year, so it's always great to be the only person to do something,” White said sarcastically. “So congrats to that.”
I know Joe Mazzulla is loving all of this
Jordan Walsh was ready to go pic.twitter.com/h5EN4WJPQt
— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) July 15, 2025
Although White is 10 years older than Walsh, he still hasn't even approached an ejection over the course of his eight seasons in the Association. Whether or not that changes during the 2025-26 campaign remains to be seen, yet Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla — who loves any kind of conflict — would likely be ecstatic to witness White get fired up enough for a technical (or two).
Celtics fans might feel differently, as the Green Team is already undermanned with Tatum out indefinitely due to an Achilles injury. In his absence, Boston needs White on the court as much as possible next season if it wants to come close to a top-four spot in the Eastern Conference.
