The Boston Celtics have had quite an offseason, unloading both Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday via trade and bracing for a year in which Jayson Tatum will be sidelined due to a torn Achilles. This season, a lot of the pressure will fall on the shoulders of Jaylen Brown and Derrick White, two ultra-talented wings who helped Boston win a championship in 2024 but won't have a lot of help this year.
Recently, NBA 2k's ratings for the upcoming season came out, and White was revealed to be an 87 overall.
Instead of airing his grievances to Ronnie 2k, as many players choose to do, White instead took to his own White Noise podcast to break down why he is perfectly content with his rating.
“Everybody’s always upset about their 2K rating… I’ll be the one that’s not upset about it,” said White, via Kicks on X, formerly Twitter.
87 overall would seem to be quite fair for White, who is one of the elite role players in the NBA, capable of knocking down three pointers with great accuracy while providing elite defense on the other end of the floor. White has also improved his ability to make plays off the dribble during his time with the Celtics.
However, for the first time in his career this year, White will see the opposing team's best or second best defender, which will be a good test for how much of his excellence with the Celtics has been to his elite teammates.
A transitional year for the Celtics
While White and Brown remain two of the best wings in the NBA, Boston doesn't have a ton of talent elsewhere on their roster this year with Tatum out and Holiday and Porzingis traded.
The Celtics' frontcourt could be a disaster given the options currently at head coach Joe Mazzulla's disposal, and it remains to be seen how Payton Pritchard and Anfernee Simons, two microwave scorers who don't provide a ton in the way of defense, will be utilized this season.
In all likelihood, Boston's focus will be positioning themselves to be able to hit the ground running once Tatum returns in 2026-27.
