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Boston Celtics guard Derrick White was preparing to enjoy a victory cigar during the 2022 NBA Finals. However, it never happened, as the C's fell to the Golden State Warriors in six games after taking a 2-1 series lead and had to watch the dynastic Dubs celebrate their title in Boston.
White never forgot that feeling of disappointment, and neither did his teammates, per the “White Noise Podcast.”
“Having them celebrate on our court, it didn't sit right with us,” he stated.
White held onto his unused victory cigar (which was given to him by Celtics star Jaylen Brown) from that disheartening series and stashed it away in his locker for motivation.
“JB was giving us cigars for the 2022 run,” White recalled. “So I kept it in my locker from that moment. And I was like, ‘When we win, I'm going to give these out.'”
Two years later, White looked for it again when the Celtics were finally enjoying a championship of their own. They had just crushed the Dallas Mavericks, 106-88, in Game 5 of the 2024 NBA Finals, and White was ready to smoke it down — or at least gift it to a teammate.
“I was giving out cigars,” he said with a smile. “I don't do cigars, but I was just like, ‘You want this?' It was a cool moment for me.”
Derrick White says he kept cigars from when the Celtics lost the finals in 2022 and handed them out when they won in 2024pic.twitter.com/bDApoUHwOZ
— jb (@lockedupjb) August 12, 2025
In the time between their 2022 and 2024 Finals appearances, the Celtics fired a coach, lost another playoff series at TD Garden, and traded away multiple key players. In spite of all that, White persevered and exorcised some demons by raising a trophy and getting rid of a cigar.
“We got over that hurdle,” he said. “We got over that hump. [The cigar had] been a reminder for two years, just sitting in my locker, of coming up short. And now, we're successful.”
Later in his self-titled podcast, White mentioned how badly he wants to reignite that feeling of success by capturing another ring. He didn't put a date on that quest though, and for good reason.
The Celtics are potentially entering a down year next season, with star Jayson Tatum out indefinitely due to an Achilles rupture. Boston also changed up much of its roster as a result of the new CBA and its financial penalties, trading away former starters Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday and letting backup center Luke Kornet walk in free agency.
In order to light up a victory cigar following the 2025-26 campaign, the Celtics would need a lot to change. But no matter how Boston fares, it seems intent on keeping White around now and for the following season, when a title window could reopen.
