If the drama from the team’s trades and contract negotiations was not enough, ESPN, with its list, stirred another debate. Despite leading the league in assists, Trae Young was ranked #29. Karl-Anthony Towns, with his career-high rebounding year, found himself at #27. But higher than them in rankings was somebody who scored fewer points than them on average–Derrick White. That’s why Gilbert Arenas was raging against such rankings.

Not only coming in support for KAT and Young, in fact, the Warriors star also defended Jrue Holiday and his ranking. “ESPN really put Derrick White like 70 spots higher than Jrue Holiday on this top 100 list… 🤦🏾‍♂️ Bro, did y’all forget Jrue was locking up dudes while Derrick was just happy to get open corner 3s?” For context, Jrue was not in the top 50 players, but had a rating of 91 for the upcoming season. ESPN also had a reason for its ranking of the former Celtics star.

First appreciating that the veteran guard will improve Portland’s defence, which was #16 last season. But his veteran presence proved to be a factor against his higher rating. “But at age 35, it would be unfair to expect Holiday, who is clearly in the winter of a likely Hall of Fame career, to be the force that he once was. Still, for a team that hasn’t made the playoffs in four years, Holiday should be a welcomed boost.” Also take a look at his last season rank and the fall of from that number.

In 2024, Jrue Holiday was predicted to be the 36th-best player in the league. But now he is #91. That’s why Gilbert Arenas added, “This list gotta be made by somebody who only watches box scores and highlight reels, cuz ain’t no way y’all seen them both play and came up with THAT ranking. 🗑️😂.” ESPN’s ranking also gave a reason why Derrick White had an improved rating to 26.

“With Jayson Tatum out, White — like Jaylen Brown — could have a chance to burnish his individual accomplishments, and with an increase in individual stats could have a shot at making his first All-Star team this season.” Which is true, Tatum is still healing from an Achilles tear, the entire team is new with Porzingis, Horford, and Holiday all not part of the setup. So, White will have extra responsibility, and that’s why ESPN has rated him highly.

More reasons in favor of Derrick White

First, the age factor is apparent as White is 31 years old, while Holiday is 35. In fact, the latter is on a downward scoring graph, with his highest being 21.2 points per game back in 2018-19. Last year, it reduced to 11.1 points, although this also has to do with a more changed role and his defensive approach first. On the other hand, White also registered his career high of 16.4 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Plus, defensively, the current Celtics guard has achieved more accolades.

Derrick White, for the third straight year, led all NBA guards in blocked shots. Him swatting away a total of 80 shot attempts was also the best effort on the team. The eight-year veteran was also in the top three in the steals category, as Jayson Tatum had 4 more, while Jaylen Brown had one more than White‘s effort of 72. This led to him having a third consecutive season in which White recorded at least 75 blocks and 50 steals. Another interesting stat in his favor was being the only guard in the league to contest at least 500 shots.

He finished at the top with 530, and Atlanta’s All-Defensive First Teamer Dyson Daniels was second but far behind with 461. Not only will his offensive actions increase, with more minutes, his defensive actions again could see an increase. Even if they remained the same, it’s still a net positive for the Celtics.