"Touch some grass dude" - Derrick White's father roasts Nuggets analyst who disparaged Jaylen Brown's Finals MVP

Derrick White and the Boston Celtics were crowned the 2023-24 NBA champions after their 106-88 win against the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of the finals on Monday. As expected, it came down to choosing between Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown for the Finals MVP. The voting went in Brown’s favor as he received seven of the 11 votes.

Denver Nuggets analyst Swipa took to X/Twitter on Tuesday to make a comparison between Brown’s numbers from the 2024 finals run to those of Jamal Murray’s from 2023. However, Derrick White’s father, Richard White, was having none of it and came up with a strong response. He tweeted:

“Touch some grass dude. There’s a new defending champ. No matter how you try and spin it. We watched your parade catch us duck boating on Friday.”

It’s only common for fans and analysts to compare different postseason runs. However, the timing of the tweet by the Nuggets analyst seemed unceremonious as it hasn’t been even 24 hours since Game 5 ended, regardless of the fact if the comparison holds some value.

Jaylen Brown averaged 20.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.0 assists on 44.0% shooting in the 2024 NBA Finals. Jamal Murray averaged 21.4 points, 10.0 assists and 6.2 rebounds on 40.3% shooting in the 2023 finals. However, the numbers don’t really provide the correct context as NBA finals differ year to year.

While Brown’s numbers are definitely inferior to Murray’s, the Boston forward was the Celtics’ best player by some margin. The same cannot be said about Murray’s run in 2023, as Nikola Jokic had better numbers and was more impactful in their win against the Miami Heat.

While numbers are a big component of the NBA, people likely won’t remember Jaylen Brown’s averages in the years to come. They will just remember that he led the Boston Celtics to a championship and that is what matters the most.

How did Derrick White fare in the 2024 NBA Finals?

While people celebrate the Jaylen Browns and Jayson Tatums of the world, players such as Derrick White always fly under the radar. That, however, doesn’t mean he didn’t have an impactful NBA finals.

The guard averaged 13.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists on 38.9% shooting, including 39.5% from beyond the arc and 100% from the free-throw line. He also averaged 1.2 steals and 1.0 block.

In terms of the entire 2024 NBA Playoffs, Derrick White averaged 16.7 points, 4.3 rebound, 4.1 assists, 1.2 blocks and 0.9 steals. He shot 45.2%, including 40.4% from the 3-point line and 92.1% from the charity stripe.