Derrick White has agreed to a four-year, $125.9 million contract extension with the champion Boston Celtics, according to Adrian Wojnarowski. The deal represents the highest figure Boston could have paid White legally, as it is a veteran extension starting at a 40% raise on his 2024-25 salary. Factoring in the last year of his existing deal, White will make roughly $145.4 million over the next five seasons.
The Celtics acquired White at the 2022 trade deadline in a deal with the San Antonio Spurs, and he has become a key player for them ever since. A stellar defensive guard who was initially added as a bench piece, White's offensive game has grown significantly in Boston. He shot just 34.4% from 3-point range as a Spur, but is up to 38% as a Celtic. Boston has empowered him as a ball-handler, and he is now their starting point guard and one of the primary ball-handlers on the team that just posted the best offensive rating in NBA history.
This extension all but ensures that the Celtics will face enormous luxury tax bills starting in the 2025-26 season. Jaylen Brown is starting a super-max extension this season, and Jayson Tatum surely will next year. Jrue Holiday got a similar four-year, $135 million extension during the season, Kristaps Porzingis is locked in for roughly $60 million over the next two years, and now, White has secured his own financial future in Boston.
The Celtics will be the championship favorites entering next season, but keeping this team together is going to be extremely expensive.
The Celtics are now primed to go on a multi-year run that could potentially see them adding to their NBA-best 18 championships. Tatum, Brown and Porzingis are still in their 20s. White will turn 30 on Tuesday. Holiday is the only one of their starters nearing the end of his prime. Their core is locked in for several more years, and after a 64-win season, this group appears to be much more than a one-hit wonder. The champs are running it back not just for next season, but beyond, and that gives the rest of the league a high bar to clear if Boston is going to be dethroned.
