Celtics
“It’s been pretty hectic. I”m just trying to enjoy it all, embrace it all.”
As he strolled to the first hole of the BMW Championship on Thursday in Denver, Celtics guard Derrick White wasn’t empty-handed.
He clutched the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy with him as he supported childhood basketball rival Wyndham Clark.
White, a Colorado native back in his home state, received cheers and recognized the home crowd. He said he didn’t know the trophy was going to be there. As he entered, he saw it on the ground and scooped it up.
A reporter asked White what the past few months have been like, and White made it clear he doesn’t take the back-to-back triumphs for granted.
“It’s been pretty hectic,” White said. “I”m just trying to enjoy it all, embrace it all.”
His success now is particularly gratifying considering his winding journey – one Clark saw from close to the beginning.
White said he and Clark met playing basketball against each other during their elementary school years. Both played point guard and had some skills. They’ve stayed close over the years, reconnected at the Olympics, then reunited again Thursday.
“Big rivalry on the court, and now just mutual respect,” White said.
White said he’s played golf only once and has “a lot of work to do, to say the least.” He asked his wife, Hannah Schneider, what the chances were that he would hit the water on a given shot, and she put it about 87 percent, give or take.
White said Stephen Curry is probably the best golfer in the NBA, and he showed some interest in upping his game.
“I didn’t realize putting was so difficult,” White said. “I’m pretty good at putt-putt, but it’s not the same.”
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