Growing up in Boston, Richard White was an ardent Celtics supporter. After Derrick White, his son, was traded to the Celtics, his father rose to prominence within the online community.
Self-described data nerd Richard is well-known for sharing his son’s defensive numbers with the public every morning after a Celtics game. He also reacts to the fury of the fans when the team doesn’t play well.
Richard stated, “I just kind of got into putting out some of the different stats on the games because I’m big on stats and data points.” I was sort of in the Celtics forum when Derrick got traded, and I saw that other users were posting data points and covering specific other players. I thought, ‘Well, I’m constantly looking at Derrick’s defensive numbers,’ so I simply started posting his defensive numbers online.”
Usually, it’s a great statline that showcases his son’s defensive abilities, but Richard consistently provides the stats in a concise Tweet, even on Derrick’s bad defensive nights—like Monday against the Pacers.
Richard stated, “The most important thing was just spreading knowledge that regular people don’t know.” “So, since you made it public, perhaps it gets more widely accepted in the future. The five main categories are well-known to all: steals, blocked shots, assists, rebounds, and points. That’s simple. Those are visible to all. But they don’t perceive competitions. They are blind to second-order aids. Those are the things that I monitor.
During the regular season, White led all guards in contested and blocked shots, earning him a spot on the All-Defensive Second Team for the first time. He is teamed up with one of the league’s most lockdown defenders, Jrue Holiday, who has been selected to the All Defensive Team five times.
Richard named the Celtics’ defensive-minded backcourt “The Stock Exchange,” and he’s known to share a GIF right away to celebrate his son’s huge defensive play—blocks or steals the ball—on social media.
Since the beginning of his NBA career, Derrick White, who the Spurs selected in the 2017 draft, has been a defensive-minded player. But after being moved to the Celtics in February 2022, he began to gain more notoriety.
Richard remarked, “Because it was San Antonio, nothing resonated back there.” Although Derrick isn’t playing any differently than he did in San Antonio, it was still a fantastic experience. Similar to real estate, it all comes down to location. He plays for Boston, so all of a suԀԀen he’s huge deal, yet all along he was doing the same thing and no one was paying attention.
Richard’s goal is to use fact-based analysis to counteract criticism seen online.
Richard started his active online presence in the Celtics community as a way to spread the word about Derrick’s defensive stat lines, but over time, he transformed into a calming presence on a forum that frequently has a negаtive slant.
Following defeats, supporters frequently disparage prominent players, censure the group and its approach to the game, and draw broad conclusions about the coaching philosophy and chances of winning titles.
A certain amount of that is a natural byproduct of sports and passion, but there’s also a special kind of annoyance felt by supporters who have watched this Celtics team play beautifully for years yet never win the championship. To be precise, no NBA club in history has played in more postseason games during a seven-year timeframe without taking home a championship.
Richard observed, “It can get kind of cantankerous out there sometimes.”
Those who watch the Celtics attentively and are deeply involved in the fandom are aware of how overdone some jokes and clichés are.
Have you heard that Jaylen Brown, for instance, is left-handed? Jaylen Brown’s left hand is actually the nаme of five Twitter accounts. A video showing Brown turning the ball over has a far higher chance of becoming viral than one of him making his signature turnaround jump shot.
Moreover, irate fans claim that Jrue Holiday has CTE; this extremely nasty cliche originally surfaced among Milwaukee Bucks supporters. For some reason, when athletes make bad decisions on the court, Twitter users utilize this very real, degenerative medical illness to characterize them.
Sometimes, even in its most harmful and dehumanizing manifestations, negativity sells.
“Since X, Twitter, or any other platform is being made profitable, social media has changed significantly,” stated White. “Because they are paid, people are saying things. If you’re a true basketball fan, you can’t believe that all of the drаmа and criticism aimed at the players is their fault. You wouldn’t sаy nearly as much as is spoken out there if you knew basketball.
Richard is speaking of the recently introduced Twitter Creator Program, which compensates signed-up users based on the impressions and comments to their postings. Users on the platform have noticed that nasty Tweets can be far more profitable, and the program’s structure encourages people to Tweet about contentious or emotionally charged topics. Even though the majority of fan accounts are not profitable, many of the bigger ones create controversy in an attempt to make money. Others use it as leverage.
It resembles high school. “I think I’m cool because people laugh at me when I sаy something like ‘I’m going to sаy something,'” said White. And it keeps getting bigger. It is visible through users’ Twitter accounts.
Richard gave me the nаme of a few well-known Twitter accounts among the Celtics fanbase that he finds most annoying; these are accounts that conceal their true identity behind a slogan or image intended to disparage a specific individual.
That isn’t your true self, Richard stated. You’re attempting to be humorous. Perhaps it was funny three years ago, but that’s not the case anymore. You repeat the same joke over and over. That was enjoyable the first time, but not now.
NBA players shouldn’t be exempt from criticism, in his opinion, but the conversation should be fact-based, impartial, and devoid of strong feelings. That’s the reason behind his actions.
Richard remarked, “You can have an opinion and sаy, ‘Derrick, shot 2-9 from three the other day.'” “It’s okay for you to sаy that! However, personal assaults kind of irritate me, so I try to counter those without being very assertive. I make every effort to minimize the instances in which I may go too far, but occasionally I succeed and people adore it.
Known for his hustle moves and selfless play, Derrick is not as frequently the target of angry fans as other players are. White has emerged as the fan base’s second-favorite player, after Jayson Tatum, according to a September poll conducted by The Athletic.
Richard does, however, routinely respond to posts that disparage some of the team’s more frequently targeted players, like as Jaylen Brown.
For the Whites, defense is everything.
Richard is delving deeply into the NBA’s defensive metrics and creating a game plan and goals for his son when he’s not swatting down trojans on Twitter.
“These are your goals, based on how much playing time you get and where you were last year,’ I tell Derrick at the start of the season. Richard stated, “You ought to make an effort to improve from last year to this one. “We have a tendency to want to meet those goals because they present enough of a challenge and, should they be met, will significantly enhance the team’s success.”
Before being named to the All-Defensive Team for the first time last spring, Derrick said that his father would be most touched by the honor.
White remarked, “That would be a pretty cool honor.” It takes a lot of effort and hard work. Naturally, I’m not too concerned about it. would most likely meаn a great deal to my dad in particular.
Derrick has maintained his domination on defense this year. White is frequently put in charge of covering the star guard on the other team because the Celtics have the second-best defense in the NBA. His father selects targets based on a review of his defensive statistics from the past.
Although Derrick isn’t as data-driven as his father, he’s open to the discussion and one of the best defenders in the league.
Richard remarked, “I’ll show him the breakdown on the spreadsheet at the end of the season. He doesn’t know where he currently stands on these different things.” He can chuckle about it. He describes me as a stat geek.
Richard never loses sight of the greater picture despite everything.
Richard expressed his gratitude every day for his son’s NBA career, saying it’s still unreal.
There are 450 guaranteed contracts offered annually. He have one of those, Richard remarked. “I’m happy he plays in the league and that I get to watch him virtually every other day on TV. Do the Celtics have a game? is the order of importance. Derrick, did you get to play? Did they triumph?
Like his kid, Richard is mostly concerned with how the game turns out.
The victory is essentially what matters, he stated. “It’s fantastic if Derrick plays well, but the important thing is the win if they win and he plays poorly. If he had one of those [Nikola] Jokic statlines and they lost, there wouldn’t be a parade. What benefit does that have?
Richard was therefore unfazed when his son was excluded from ESPN’s list of the Top-100 Players, a move that garnered media attention and led a number of teammates to doubt the accuracy of such rankings.
Richard stated, “I checked to see if he was on there.” Then, I wasn’t surprised when he wasn’t. Because he is from San Antonio, he lacks notoriety and brand value. Now that he plays for the Celtics, he is receiving more, but he is still lower on the hierarchy. New lottery selections are made each year, and they are already inserted into the league.
To give you an idea, players who had never played a game before, such as Scoot Henderson (ranked 78), Chet Holmgren (ranked 73), and Victor Wembenyama (ranked 47), were listed in the Top-100 lists.
The devoted Celtics supporter believes the 2023–24 squad will win a title.
Richard is sure the Celtics will win it all if they can keep this present team healthy. He made note of the fact that the club’s starting five is performing on par with the Nuggets’ starting lineup from the previous campaign and that, when all five starters are on the court, the team has only lost once this season—at Philadelphia on November 8th.
Richard stated, “I wouldn’t feаr them playing if the Celtics enter the playoffs intact.” They will win 70% of the time if they finish a game with their starting five. However, you won’t win every one of them, and when you do lose, people will lose their minds.
Richard will keep doing his share to foster a more reasonable environment in the Celtics online community in the interim, especially in the wake of defeats. Being the father of a well-known footballer, he sometimes finds it difficult to express his desires.
Richard White stated, “I just like to get people back on track about what’s actually going on on the court.” “Anyone can publicly declare, ‘Oh, this team is awful.'” They are, however, 15-5. I am aware that every setback makes a victory four times more valuable. They perceive themselves as 15-20. I could understand part of the angst if it were the case.