{
  "id": 12214729,
  "title": "Jayson Tatum Names His Toughest Defender — And It's a Celtics Teammate",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/05/jayson-tatum-names-his-toughest-defender-and-its-a-celtics-teammate",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-05T19:32:13.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/jayson-tatum-names-toughest-defender-193213629.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Jayson Tatum recently named Derrick White as his toughest defender, and it happens to be a teammate. On Monday, Tatum, a star player for the Boston Celtics, responded to fan questions during a Reddit AMA session alongside his doctor, Dr. Martin O Malley. Tatum praised White by saying, \"Derrick White ;),\" highlighting their strong connection on and off the court. White and Tatum have been teammates since the 2021-22 season. Before White joined the Celtics, Tatum had faced him six times during his stint with the San Antonio Spurs. In those matches, Tatum averaged 15.8 points on 36.6 percent shooting from the field. According to matchup data from the NBA, White has been an effective defender against Tatum. Tatum has witnessed White's defensive skills firsthand since they became teammates. The Celtics guard has earned recognition as one of the NBA's top defenders, being selected three times to the All-Defensive Team and finishing sixth in Defensive Player of the Year voting in the 2025-26 season. White's contract with the Celtics extends for two more years, ensuring Tatum will continue to have one of the best defenders on his side.",
  "summary": "It's safe to assume that Jayson Tatum is glad they share a locker room.",
  "key_points": [
    "Jayson Tatum named Derrick White as his toughest defender.",
    "Derrick White is a teammate of Jayson Tatum.",
    "Both have been teammates since the 2021-22 season."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}