On Monday night, in a 117-103 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies, Derrick White broke a Boston Celtics record for three-pointers made in a season. White made 247 threes passing Isaiah Thomas who previously held the record at 245.
He made 3 three-pointers in the win, officially breaking the record in the fourth quarter. White broke the record with seven games remaining in the Celtics’ season. He has a chance to shatter the old record completely. He’s also not alone, as Jayson Tatum and Payton Pritchard are on his heels going for the record.
Derrick White’s Season
White has had an excellent season in Boston. This record exemplifies that. In the win over the Grizzlies, he did not shoot well. He had 14 points on 4-of-13 shooting. But White came through when it mattered. He broke the record on a three in the fourth quarter, and in the game’s final minutes, he made another three from the corner to help seal the victory. Stepping up in the fourth quarter has been a trend from White this season. He’s consistently made timely shots to help the Celtics win close games against teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers and Denver Nuggets.
However, this season has not been all good for White. There was a large stretch throughout December and January when his shooting was inconsistent. This correlated with Boston’s worst stretch of the season where they played .500 basketball for a month. As the Celtics returned to form, so did he. In March, the Celtics went 14-1. During that month, he had a career-high of 41 points in a win over the Portland Trail Blazers.
This season, White is shooting 38.1% from three. This is nearly a career-high, but what put him above the record was his volume. Last season, White shot 39.6% from three on 495 attempts. This season, he has attempted a whopping 648 three-pointers. It is over 150 more three-pointers attempted than in the previous season. His percentage at this high volume gave him the record with seven games left in the season.
A Historic Shooting Team
White is not the only Celtic on the verge of history. Tatum and Pritchard are also approaching Thomas’ three-point record. Tatum has made 240 threes and is five away from passing Thomas. Pritchard has made 238 and is right behind Tatum. White is the one who broke the record first and leads with 247. It has been a fun competition between teammates going for the record. With seven games left if any of them catch fire the record could go down.
Many basketball fans, whether they support the Celtics or not, have been critical of their play style and reliance on the three-pointer. But it has been working for them. Since Joe Mazzulla took over as head coach, the team has shot more threes than ever. It is part of what won them the NBA Championship last season and makes their offense so potent.
Many fans focus on the games where the threes don’t fall and claim that Boston is over-reliant on them. While that is sometimes the case, this season has shown how good the three-point volume can be when the shots go in.
Final Thoughts
White broke the Celtics’ three-point record, passing Thomas who previously set the record in 2017. With seven games left in the regular season, Tatum and Pritchard are within striking distance. It will be a race between three Celtics to see who can end the season with the record. But, for now, that record belongs to White.
