Celtics

Derrick White is replacing Kawhi Leonard on Team USA Olympic roster

White joins Celtics teammates Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday as part of the group set to compete in the upcoming Paris Olympics.

By Hayden Bird

July 10, 2024

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The recently-crowned champion Celtics will have one more representative at the Olympics playing for Team USA.

Derrick White, 30, is joining the U.S. according to a team announcement on Wednesday afternoon.

The news follows a Team USA statement earlier in the day announcing that Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard — originally named to the roster — will not play at the Summer Games as he works his way back from a knee injury sustained at the end of the NBA regular season.

“Kawhi has been ramping up for the Olympics over the past several weeks and had a few strong practices in Las Vegas,” USA basketball said in the statement. “He felt ready to compete. However, he respects that USA Basketball and the Clippers determined it’s in his best interest to spend the remainder of the summer preparing for the upcoming season rather than participating in the Olympic Games in Paris.”

The addition of White gives Team USA a trio of Celtics, with White joining teammates Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday. Fresh off winning a title, it gives the Boston contingent the chance to achieve wins in multiple competitions in only a few months.

White’s previous experience with the national team came at the 2019 FIBA World Cup, though it ended in disappointing fashion as the U.S. lost back-to-back games against France and Serbia, eventually finishing seventh.

Tatum and Holiday were both members of the gold medal run by Team USA at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The United States are winners of the last four consecutive gold medals in men’s basketball. They are the favorites to do so once again in Paris, but will face difficult competition from several nations, including Serbia, Germany (which defeated the U.S. at the 2023 FIBA World Cup), and hosts France.