Boston Celtics star Derrick White caught a punch in the head that knocked his hat during an altercation at the Colorado-Colorado State football match on September 14.
In the video obtained by TMZ, a man wearing a CSU hat and sunglasses hit White’s head with a spinning back fist. Cooler heads tried to intervene, but the shouting, pushing and shoving continued until White was seen getting pulled out from the scene.
#NBA star #DerrickWhite was hit in the head by a spinning backfist on Saturday, new video obtained by @TMZ_Sports shows. Full story here: https://t.co/GIfoacuOVO pic.twitter.com/OVQmiEfqTO
— TMZ (@TMZ) September 16, 2024
According to one of the witnesses interviewed by TMZ, White, a University of Colorado alum, got into a “verbal spat” with some of the Rams’ fans.
No police report was filed, the TMZ report added.
White starred for the Buffaloes men’s basketball team in his final season in college in 2017, averaging 18.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game. He was named first-team All-Pac-12 and a member of the five-man All-Defensive team then made the jump to the NBA.
The San Antonio Spurs selected White with the 29th overall pick in 2017. After playing four-and-a-half seasons with the Spurs, he was traded to the Celtics in 2021 in exchange for exchange for Josh Richardson, Romeo Langford, a 2022 first-round pick (which turned into Blake Wesley), and the rights to swap 2028 first-round picks.
White became a key cog of the Celtics’ championship run last season.
Derrick White Earns Lucrative Extension
After averaging a career-best 16.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.2 blocks during the Celtics’ playoff run, White earned himself a four-year deal worth up to $125.9 million.
“I said the whole time that I loved it in Boston and I was hopeful and I’m pretty thankful that it all happened pretty quickly and I don’t have to answer questions about it all season,” White said in an interview with NBC Boston after signing the lucrative extension. “But it was a lot of it was pretty easy. I just wanted to be there and they wanted me there. So it worked out.”
The 30-year-old White finished finished eighth in the Defensive Player of the Year voting and was named to the All-Defensive Second Team for the second straight season.
White averaged 15.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1 steal and 1.2 blocks in 73 games, helping the Celtics gain homecourt edge throughout the playoffs with the No. 1 seed.
Derrick White Wins Olympic Gold
After helping the Celtics win their 18th NBA title, White did the same with Team USA in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
White got the call-up after Kawhi Leonard was not deemed fit to play.
“I received a call from the national team and of course, I immediately talked to the family to see if and how it could all be done,” White said in his first interview since getting the call-up.
White revealed he ditched his planned family trip to Cabo, a resort city at the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, as he could not pass up the opportunity to play for Team USA.
“I am very grateful and excited. I knew there was a chance to be with the team when (Adrian) Wojnarowski sent the tweet. My agent and I talked a little about it right after the season ended, so I waited patiently. They contacted us and now we are here,” White continued.
The Celtics star came off the bench, averaging 3.8 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 15.8 minutes for Team USA. His best game came against South Sudan in their second match wherein he scored 10 points on a perfect 3-of-3 shooting while adding three steals.
Alder Almo is a basketball journalist covering the NBA for Heavy.com. He has more than 15 years of experience in local and international media, including broadcast, print and digital. He previously covered the Knicks for Empire Sports Media and the NBA for Off the Glass. Alder is from the Philippines and is now based in Jersey City, New Jersey. More about Alder Almo
