Tatum, White share hilarious podium exchange after win over Pistons originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Boston Celtics All-Stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown might be one of the NBA’s best on-court duos. But when it comes to postgame press conferences, Tatum has a different partner-in-crime: Derrick White.
After Saturday’s 124-118 win over the Detroit Pistons in which White made a clutch block on Cade Cunningham down the stretch, Tatum and White surprised reporters by showing up to the podium together, which isn’t typical after regular-season games.
“It’s like an unwritten rule,” Tatum explained. “We’re supposed to do media together, ever since the interaction with the guy who thought I had a fake watch in Abu Dhabi. It’s like we’re kind of bonded post-game media now.”
Tatum and White indeed shared a podium together after the Celtics’ second preseason game against the Denver Nuggets and had a good chuckle when a reporter asked Tatum if the watch he was wearing was real.
So, the Celtics teammates decided to run it back Saturday night in Detroit, and more hilarity ensued when White was asked about his game-saving block on Cunningham.
Here’s White’s answer followed by his back-and-forth with Tatum:
White (to reporter): “He had dunked on me earlier in the game, so I felt like I had to get some revenge on that one.”
Tatum (to White): “What’d you say after you blocked him?”
White: “I got that one.”
Tatum: “What’d you really say?”
White: “Something like that.”
Reporter: “A little more colorful?”
White: “That doesn’t sound like me.”
Tatum: “The people like when you show more emotion.”
White: “I’m working on it.”
White is typically more reserved but appears to have plenty of fun at the podium with Tatum, who clearly enjoys poking fun at his quieter teammate. So, maybe we’ll see more of this duo in postgame press conferences going forward — perhaps after Monday’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks at TD Garden?
Check out White and Tatum’s full press conference in the video below or on YouTube: