Watching your teammate receive a technical foul is something that not many people, let alone teammates, would be ecstatic about. However, that’s what happened to the Boston Celtics during their tough 119-113 loss to the Detroit Pistons on Sunday night.
At the same time, Derrick White, the Celtics guard, put up 15 points. Four rebounds and three assists. One thing on the stat line stands out: White received his first NBA technical foul of his career. Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum’s response to White’s technical fouls went viral.
How Did Jayson Tatum React to Teammate Derrick White’s Historical Infraction?
White came into the league in 2017 and flew under the radar with the San Antonio Spurs. He improved every year and was ultimately traded to the Celtics in 2022.
He would put the world on notice with his tenacious on-ball defense, which was one of the main reasons why the Celtics captured their 18th NBA title in 2024. When stepping on a court, White is as pure a competitor as they come. He is much more relaxed off the court, someone about whom everyone has good things to say.
Tatum is no stranger to technical fouls, having accumulated 67 technical fouls so far in his career. After making comments to the media in April about Derrick not having enough “street cred,” saying, “So I told D-White, like, you gotta get one technical foul and get your street cred up,” early in the third quarter of the Celtics Pistons game, White, while guarding small forward Ausar Thompson, heard the referee blow his whistle and issue the technical against him.
White was obviously befuddled, as having a technical foul is one of the worst offenses a player can have. These fouls have been known to change and shift momentum in many important games that favor the opposition.
It is funny to note that this call got Tatum, who is working his way back to being game-ready after suffering an Achilles tear, out of his seat, smiling and encouraging White. In life, there is a first time for everything, and White will likely not soon forget this moment, especially given his team leader’s reaction.
White has had a slow start to the season, and hopefully, this is something that White and the Celtics team can build off. While you don’t want to draw fouls, Tatum wanted to help the Boston guard turn up the volume on his intensity just a little bit more. Extra aggression in the game of basketball can strike fear into the heart of the team that you are playing.
Maybe going from nice guy to sports villain is perhaps the secret ingredient that Boston needs for a successful season ahead.
