Celtics
White chipped his tooth in the Celtics’ Game 5 win on Monday.
Derrick White had to hit pause on celebrating the Celtics’ title a couple of times this week in order to get some dental repair.
The Celtics guard chipped one of his front teeth during the Game 5 series-clinching win over the Mavericks on Monday. By Friday, the tooth was fixed thanks to Boston Dental.
White and Boston Dental each shared a video of his dental repair. It appeared that a variety of dental tools were used to help White’s tooth get repaired.
It was also a thorough process that might not be fully fixed yet.
“I spent like, two hours [there],” White told NBC Sports Boston’s Abby Chin when asked how much time he’s spent in a dentist’s chair ahead of Friday’s parade. “Then, I had to go back for like an hour. Now, we’ve got a little temporary fix for tonight.
“Shoutout to Boston Dental, y’all clutch.”
Boston Dental appeared to receive a signed jersey and basketball from White as a thank you for repairing his tooth.
White chipped the tooth when diving for a loose ball in the first half of Game 5. As he dove for the ball, White faceplanted onto the parquet floor while Mavericks center Dereck Lively II made contact with the back of his head as he was also trying to get the ball.
White began to bleed due to the sequence, causing a brief pause in play. But he remained in the game, drilling a 3-pointer not long after.
The All-Defensive team guard continued to make hustle plays throughout Game 5 despite the situation with his teeth. He notably blocked Lively at the rim in the second half and finished the game with 14 points.
White downplayed the injury when he spoke with reporters following Monday’s championship win.
“I knew right away. I’ve chipped it in the past, so it’s not new,” White said. “But, like, I mean, this tooth is loose. The other two teeth are wiggling. They were trying stuff in the locker room. I was like, I don’t care. Just play.”
Once the celebrations commenced, White poked fun at his tooth situation. He pretended to yank out his chipped tooth as he drank champagne in the locker room before giving a speech about the tooth during the team’s afterparty.
“I ain’t got a tooth,” White said at the party. “I don’t [expletive] care. We the champs!”
White’s tooth situation didn’t stop him from celebrating the Celtics’ championship, though. He traveled with the team to Miami for the brief trip they took Tuesday into Wednesday. He also bought his own duck boat in an ad for Sam Adams this week.
Before tossing beers to Celtics fans during Friday’s parade, White shared with Abby Chin what part of the celebration he’s enjoyed the most.
“Probably just hanging out with the team,” White said. “We’ve just got a great locker room and great group of people to hang out with.”
It’s unclear how much more dental work White will have to go through. But if he does have to spend some more time at Boston Dental, it appears he’ll have plenty of money to help continue the dental repair. The Celtics and White are expected to agree to a four-year extension that could be worth up to $127 million, long-time NBA insider Marc Stein reported earlier in the week.
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