The role model: how Derrick White defines the Celtics’ style

I hate calling Derrick White a role player.

The ocean of role players is vast. It includes guys who play a minimal part in the success or failure of their team, like Robert Covington, all the way up to guys like Chris Paul, who, despite no longer being an All-Star, impacts how the Suns operate profoundly.

Derrick White has very little in common with the first type of role player, so little that I think we need a new word to describe the Whites, Pauls, and Anunobys. Something that captures the outsized importance of these not-quite stars. I’m open to suggestions, but for current purposes and until we find something better, let’s go with “role models.”

The Celtics are littered with role models…