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Derrick White recalls being on ‘good side' of Steph Curry flurry during Olympics originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Derrick White has fond memories of Steph Curry’s incredible finish to the 2024 Paris Olympics.

After many seasons of seeing Curry and the Warriors unload on White’s Boston Celtics squad, the NBA veteran got to be on the winning side for once during the Olympics last summer, something he cherishes still.

“Steph was unbelievable, he was just going crazy,” White said Tuesday on the “White Noise Podcast.” “In the beginning [of the Olympic tournament], Steph wasn’t himself. We were waiting for that Steph game to happen, and it happened in that Serbia game, and he carried it over to the gold medal game.

“In the [fourth quarter] of that game, Steph kicks it to [Kevin Durant] and [LeBron James] is open in the corner and he’s like, ‘Nah, back to you, Steph,’ it was unbelievable. To be on the good side of it, it was an unbelievable feeling. The whole bench is going crazy, like we can’t believe what we’re watching either.”

Curry shook off some rust early in the tournament to almost single-handedly lift Team USA to the victory over Serbia in the semifinals. After that, Curry turned in an iconic performance against France in the gold medal game, erupting for 24 points on 8-for-12 shooting from 3-point range and five assists.

It was another vintage performance from one of the NBA’s all-time greats and a welcome relief from White’s perspective.

White and the Celtics faced Curry and the Warriors in the 2022 NBA Finals and saw firsthand his devastating shooting abilities. Boston took a 2-1 series lead, but after that it was all Golden State, with Curry putting things out of reach with a mesmerizing 34-point performance in the series-clinching Game 6.

Still, White always will have golden memories of his time with Curry and Team USA in Paris to go along with his gold medal.

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Celtics sign head coach Joe Mazzulla to multi-year contract extension originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Amid an offseason of change for the Boston Celtics, we have a constant: Joe Mazzulla isn’t going anywhere.

The Celtics announced Friday they have signed their head coach to a “multi-year” contract extension. While terms weren’t disclosed, the deal keeps Mazzulla in place as Boston’s head coach for at least the next several seasons.

Mazzulla took the Celtics’ head coach job under ominous circumstances, replacing the suspended Ime Udoka as the team’s interim head coach just days before training camp in September 2022. Since then, the Rhode Island native had remarkable success behind the bench, posting a 182-64 regular season record (.740 winning percentage) over three seasons and guiding Boston to its 18th championship in 2024.

While there was some speculation about Mazzulla’s contract situation entering this offseason — NBC Sports Boston’s Michael Holley reported the Celtics may have had an upcoming “team option” on Mazzulla’s previous deal — Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens reiterated in June that the C’s “want Joe to be around here for a long time.”

Now, they’ve made that happen.

“We are very excited that Joe has agreed to extend with the Celtics,” Stevens said in a statement Friday. “He understands the job and has a passion for the Celtics that is only rivaled by our most die-hard fans. He’s worked hard and accomplished amazing things in his first three years as a head coach – including averaging over 60 wins per season and winning the 2024 NBA Championship.

“Joe is a gifted leader who brings a consistent commitment to learning, improving, and maximizing each day we get to compete for the Boston Celtics.”

Mazzulla is about to face his toughest challenge yet to get the most out of a squad that lost Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, Luke Kornet and (likely) Al Horford and will be without injured superstar Jayson Tatum for most or all of the 2025-26 season.

But it’s clear that Stevens and the Celtics view Mazzulla as the right person for the job.

“This is truly a blessing,” Mazzulla said in a statement. “I would not be here without my faith, my wife, and my children. We are thankful for the partnership with our ownership groups, Brad’s mentorship, and the support of our staff.

“Most importantly, I am grateful for the players I have been able to coach the past three seasons. I look forward to competing for the Celtics and the city of Boston.”

When’s the last time you had fun watching an NBA All-Star game?

A league’s All-Star Game is a marquee event and should be one filled with hype and excitement. But in recent years, the conversation around the NBA’s All-Star festivities has been about what needs changing to make it more interesting.

The WNBA, however, is seeing record viewership and attendance. Growing enthusiasm around the W has made its All-Star events a hot topic on social media.

The NBA All-Star Game of today is about the three Rs: rest, recovery and ramping up for the playoffs. But NBA players could take one specific note from the W: This year’s WNBA All-Star Weekend turned into a celebration of its players, fans and culture. With more people watching, WNBA players also used the opportunity to advocate for their collective bargaining discussions with T-shirts that read “Pay us what you owe us” during pregame.

Players are currently wearing shirts that say “PAY US WHAT YOU OWE US” ahead of this year’s WNBA All-Star game.

Powerful. @TheNextHoops pic.twitter.com/6hkmH43cyZ

— Deyscha “Sway” Smith (@deyschasmith) July 20, 2025

Sharing the joy of playing basketball should be a layup. The NBA will soon play its 80th season, and we are now experiencing a shift in the game with more international players, as well as what looks like a changing of the guard with players such as LeBron James, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant being late in their careers.

Seeing the veterans and younger players tell their stories with basketball as the background would offer a nice change of pace. Learning what niche or random interest or hobby players have would help highlight who they are for casual fans unable to recite the information typically found on the back of a trading card.

This season, the WNBA added hockey-like live-ball substitutions and the 4-point line to make things more interesting. The game itself wasn’t highly competitive (or featured much defense) as Team Collier blew out Team Clark 151-131. But the hype wasn’t around the game or skills challenges. Fans seemed to understand it was an exhibition, and players weren’t going to play super hard in a game that didn’t count.

Instead, the enjoyment came from the excitement of players and the weekend itself, helped in part by the popularity of the 72-hour StudBudz livestream.

The StudBudz, run by Minnesota Lynx players and close friends Courtney Williams and Natisha Hiedeman, gave WNBA fans a rare glimpse into players’ off-court lives, sharing behind-the-scenes looks at their experiences during their All-Star weekend. It was the kind of access traditional media doesn’t have.

Fans on social media were sharing clips of every ounce of access they could get. With the use of livestreams, WNBA players were able to give fans at home an unprecedented peek behind the curtain.

Studbudz 72 hour stream has somehow revolutionized sports content the wnba and all star weekend and also threatened the very fabric of professional sports all at the same time lmao

Love it

— Eddie Gonzalez (@bansky) July 19, 2025

At the WNBA All-Star Game, players mingled and integrated themselves in many events like merchandise pop-ups, panels and parties with the fans. They signed everything. They showed up for their fans and, in some cases, allowed them to get close to them. Players, alumni and fans connected in a way we don’t normally get to see, but it has become common for the W.

That’s what All-Star Weekend should be about: sharing that joy and making the players accessible and relatable, allowing fans to connect beyond a player’s on-court performance.

“(WNBA) players have a clear understanding that this particular weekend is about the fans,” Connecticut Sun sideline reporter Terrika Foster-Brasby said. “You obviously want to protect your players, and you want to ensure that your players have security and that you know there aren’t random people doing and saying crazy things.

“But there is a level of accessibility that you have with women in the WNBA that you don’t have with men in the NBA. I think that kind of creates this vision that the NBA players are sort of untouchable, or that they are unapproachable.”

While that might not be so easy to do with NBA players, humanizing players is one of the things making the WNBA different from other leagues. Seeing players laughing, dancing and having fun with one another reminds fans these aren’t just athletes who accomplish incredible things on the court, but multidimensional people — something we don’t see much of at the NBA All-Star Game. Seeing coaches and even commissioner Cathy Engelbert interact with fans adds to the WNBA’s charm.

At the NBA All-Star Game, players look as if it’s a chore to be there. During the 2025 Skills Challenge, Team Spurs, composed of veteran Chris Paul and French basketball prodigy Victor Wembanyama, intentionally missed their shots to try to cut down on their time and move on to the next obstacle. The drill consisted of a variety of passes before the players reached a rack of balls to shoot. Paul and Wembanyama weren’t even trying to connect on their shot attempts.

The crowd, aware of the gamesmanship on display, rained boos on Paul. The duo was disqualified for not taking valid shots.

While Paul and Wembanyama thought this strategy would benefit them, it was a joyless moment for the fans. Seeing one of the greatest point guards of all time and a 7-4 big man show the same skills would not only have had the crowd rocking and given them something to cheer for, but also have been a great example of how NBA players’ skills have evolved.

This year’s NBA All-Star Game included a new tournament-like format, and the reception from fans was mixed. The frequent discussion of format changes around the NBA’s game has shown that ship’s probably sailed in terms of legislating the fun and excitement back into the event. Changing the rules and adding gimmicks hasn’t yet seemed to make the All-Star Game more interesting to fans or players. Fans know they’re watching a game that doesn’t count, but they still want to see their favorites putting on a show.

While there was a complete lack of defense in the women’s game, they looked as if they enjoyed being there. The celebratory feel of the WNBA’s All-Star Weekend shone through the players.

Even with several tweaks to the format throughout the last few years, the moments of joy have been fleeting recently at the NBA All-Star Weekend. The players selected for the All-Star Game are already the league’s elite, so what incentive can motivate them to play any harder?

“I think the players want to be viewed as regular guys, as regular human beings having fun, hanging out with my friends and my guys. I don’t think the league always puts them in the best position to give them that human aspect,” Foster-Brasby said. “You can see it even at W All-Star, because a lot of times NBA players are there, and they don’t necessarily have that guarded view during WNBA All-Star that they have during NBA All-Star. You can see it feels like they’re a little bit more relaxed, and they feel a little bit more comfortable within that space.”

Maybe instead of new rules, the NBA needs to make the weekend more player and fan-focused. The NBA has open practices on All-Star Saturday, but there is always room for more fan engagement.

The WNBA community has its groups and cliques among the fan base, and they’re close-knit. Access and connectivity to the players have organically created a growing interest in the league and the players as individuals. All-Star Weekend highlighted that in a way we’d never seen before.

“I think proximity and authenticity is the name of the game,” said Khristina Williams, host “In Case You Missed It,” a women’s basketball podcast. “WNBA players are digital natives. Utilizing social media … that type of technology is always going to hit for women’s sports or women’s basketball, because for years and years none of their stuff was available. They’ve capitalized on building their brands through connecting with their fans.”

The NBA All-Star break was extended during the 2013-14 season from five days to seven to allow players more time to rest, but the break isn’t the true midpoint of the season, as teams head into the break having played more than 50 games. Understandably, players don’t want to risk injury in a game that doesn’t count. But when players appear as if they don’t care about participating in the events, it’s neither fun nor entertaining.

When Major League Baseball held the first All-Star Game on July 6, 1933, at Comiskey Park in Chicago (“the Game of the Century,” according to the Chicago Tribune) to coincide with the 1933 World’s Fair, the intention was a celebration of the sport and an opportunity to showcase baseball’s top talent and their skills.

The NBA held its first All-Star Game at Boston Garden on March 2, 1951. A crowd of more than 10,000 packed the arena to see the league’s best. Inaugural All-Star MVP “Easy” Ed Macauley of the Boston Celtics finished with 20 points on 7-for-12 shooting as the East defeated the West 111-94. Like MLB, the game became a fan favorite.

But it’s not easy for any league to host an All-Star Game. Times have changed. Before interleague play, it was rare for American League fans to see National League players and vice versa. In the NBA, it was rare for someone in Cleveland to see the Denver Nuggets or the Portland Trail Blazers. All-Star games were the places to see the best in one spot. Now, with NBA League Pass and MLB Extra Innings, we can see any player at any time. The NFL and NHL have also recently changed their formats as leagues are constantly trying things to infuse new life into their midseason break.

MLB’s All-Star Game has seen its popularity diminished because superstars don’t play the majority of the game and many starters leave before it ends. This year’s Midsummer Classic ended in a tie after nine innings, so it led to the first All-Star swing-off. Despite the lack of starters like Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani, the mini-home run derby went over well and brought some of the joy back to the event.

If the NBA wants to infuse some enthusiasm into the events, the WNBA just gave them a great playbook to follow and make their own. Players should see All-Star Weekend as an opportunity to take off their cool and let people see who they are, honor the history of the game and celebrate with the fans.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

NBA, WNBA, Culture

2025 The Athletic Media Company

Celtics' approach with Tatum hints at ‘no ceilings' mindset for 2025-26 originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

We’re not here to sell you a gallon of green Kool-Aid. The Boston Celtics’ 2025-26 season will feature more bumps in the road than recent years and the margin for error for this talent-depleted team is razor thin, especially as Jayson Tatum rehabs from Achilles surgery.

But one thing is certain: The Celtics are approaching the obvious uncertainty ahead with remarkable vigor and an utter refusal to put a ceiling on what’s to come. 

In an offseason where it would be very easy to get discouraged — both by Tatum’s injury and a talent drain forced upon a team by a restricted new collective bargaining agreement — the Celtics remain unfailingly positive. All that matters is putting one good day after the next.

Where will that lead this team? We won’t suspect to know for sure. But we do believe the 2025-26 season will be far more enjoyable than most seem to be predicting (though we’ll also relent that there are obvious weak spots in Boston’s overhauled depth chart and an injury to any member of the remaining championship core could change the outlook of the season in a hurry).

Good luck trying to get anyone inside the Auerbach Center to buy into a so-called “gap” year. While the team endured painful-yet-inevitable changes in order to open avenues toward building the next championship-caliber roster, those in green universally refuse to put a ceiling on what’s possible for the 2025-26 squad.

“I said this when I was coaching all the time, I never put a ceiling on any team,” Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said in July. “We were fortunate to have a number of teams there, as we led up to this kind of [championship] window, that were really fun, and that I thought never really cared about ceilings and had a chip on their shoulders. I expected this team will, too. 

“The last time that Jaylen Brown was on a team that was doubted was a long time ago. The last time that Payton Pritchard’s been on a team that was doubted — he probably hasn’t been. I mean, you go down the list, Derrick White and all these guys. I’m excited to see what this team has in store. I know [coach] Joe [Mazzulla is] excited.”

For his part, Pritchard was adamant when we talked last week that the expectations in Boston have not changed.

“We’re definitely trying to be a playoff team. We’re trying to win a championship,” said Pritchard. “It’s not even about playoffs; we have one standard in Boston and it’s to win a championship. Everybody in that locker room will have the goal of competing for a championship. And we will do everything in our power necessary to go for that. That’s what [fans] should know.”

🔊 Celtics Talk Podcast: Payton Pritchard on Celtics’ summer changes, NBA’s new heave rule and Kyrie wanting to swing on him | Listen & Subscribe | Watch on YouTube

We’ve spent a lot of this offseason thinking about the radical shift in expectations for these Celtics. A championship-or-bust mentality is inevitable for a team with 18 banners hanging above its court, but it also made it hard to savor the small wins along the way. Every bump in the road hit like plane turbulence while you sometimes had to remind yourself to savor the little victories. 

One of our favorite seasons covering this team was the magical 2016-17 campaign when Isaiah Thomas thrust himself into the MVP conversation while carrying a hard-playing, mentally-strong group straight to the Eastern Conference Finals. Watching that team exceed expectations — with Thomas routinely making fourth-quarter magic — made that season almost as endearing as some of the championship seasons.

Can history repeat itself with this group? If you’re looking at Boston’s frontcourt depth chart after the summer changes and scoffing, we get it. But we’re strangely excited to simply see where this goes.

This season is going to answer a whole bunch of questions about individual players and who will be key pieces to Banner 19. Instead of fretting who’s not on the floor, it’s OK if you simply want to embrace who is. Whatever ceiling you perceive for Jaylen Brown or Derrick White or Pritchard, that might just change during the 2025-26 season.

And then there’s Tatum.

We subscribe strongly to the notion that you don’t even consider putting Tatum back on the court until he is at full health. And given the history of Achilles injuries, it’s easy to suspect Tatum probably wouldn’t return until the start of the 2026-27 season.

But we also know Tatum is a maniac who has relentlessly attacked the first three months of his rehab. The Celtics put him in the best position to expedite his recovery by getting him into surgery just hours after the devastating injury. Spend even a little bit of time reading about the rehab of NFL running back Cam Akers, and it’s hard not to envision Tatum potentially ramping up activities early in calendar year 2026.

Again, that’s not to suggest the team ought to consider bringing him back expeditiously. But we believe the major parties involved when they suggest that there is no timeline, and that they will simply cross each medical bridge as they cross them.

The Indiana Pacers were quick to rule out Tyrese Haliburton for the 2025-26 season after a torn Achilles in the NBA Finals. The Celtics have resisted doing the same with Tatum. Our read is that Boston chose that approach so as to not put a ceiling on what’s possible.

If Tatum is hell-bent on attacking his rehab — even if just for the possibility of returning quicker than most who have navigated the same injury — then whey take away any bit of hope? The focus right now is on putting one good day in front of another. 

If the season goes sideways and the Celtics are not as competitive with this new-look roster, then maybe that allows Tatum and Co. to take a longer view on his return. If Boston exceeds expectations and plays beyond mid-April, then the player, front office, and medical staff can assess the value in an earlier return. 

After Tatum made an appearance at a community event in Providence on Thursday, Celtics team president Rich Gotham offered the latest glimpse into that no-ceilings mentality when asked about the possibility of Tatum attempting to return this season.

“[Tatum is] going to do everything he can to put us in a position to make a decision,” said Gotham.

Even that reads like Celtics catnip. The “Jay Watch” on its own will help navigate the season. Tatum’s eventual return offers hope of a brighter future regardless of how the 2025-26 season plays out. 

The Celtics have spent much of the summer getting their finances in order. The departures of championship pieces like Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, Luke Kornet, and (presumably soon) Al Horford, have not been easy for fans to endure. The team could shed even more money in a quest to get below the tax. Splurging to build a championship roster is a heck of a lot more fun than shedding to avoid the tax and aprons.

It’s on Stevens and his front office staff to put this team in position to start adding again soon. Having to navigate some of these financial pain points in a season where Tatum will miss time makes it slightly easier to endure.

But our advice is not to get too hung up on the big picture. Embrace the steps on the journey back to being a title contender. Embrace Tatum’s progress. Embrace the possibility that players like Brown, White, and Pritchard will get every opportunity to show their full potential. 

The Celtics are not putting a ceiling on this year’s team. They’re just focused on each day. We’ll see where that takes them.