The NBA player and his team defeated the Dallas Mavericks in the 2024 NBA Championship
Credit: Brian Fluharty/Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- Derrick White recalled on The Tonight Show a dental incident that went down on the court during the 2024 NBA Finals
- The Boston Celtics star admitted to host Jimmy Fallon that he glued it back into his mouth during the game
- White and the Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks to win the 2024 NBA Championship
Derrick White's pearly whites were saved!
The Boston Celtics star, 31, recently recalled an infamous dental complication that occurred during his team's matchup against the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of the 2024 NBA Finals when speaking with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show on Thursday, March 17.
White was asked by the 51-year-old comedian about the time his tooth was knocked out mid game and wound up salvaging it with glue on the court — a quick solution to the sticky situation he found himself in before ending the night with a 106-88 win over Dallas.
Credit: Erin Clark/The Boston Globe via Getty
To set the scene, the shooting guard made clear that he had "been putting off going to the dentist for a while" and "had some teeth issues in the past" prior to the incident that went down that June night.
"I go to the game, I get hit in the mouth. I had a bridge on at the time and it came out, so I just picked it up and went straight to the back," he recalled on the late-night show. "I'm not a hockey player, so I had to figure out a way to glue it back together."
"So they just kind of glued it and then I put a mouthpiece on it, played the rest of the game and eventually went to the dentist the next day," he remembered.
Fallon then asked White how his dentist reacted when the NBA star finally paid him a visit.
"He said, 'I told you to come a week ago,' " he recalled with a laugh.
Credit: Todd Owyoung/NBC
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Fortunately, he got his tooth fix because White was soon to be doing a lot of smiling that year, ultimately winning the 2024 NBA Championship with the Boston Celtics. The Eastern Conference champions defeated the Western Conference Mavericks four games to one.
The Celtics win that year was a significant milestone for the team, marking Boston's first championship victory since 2008 and 18th overall, giving the Celtics the most NBA championships in franchise history.
The Celtics finished the regular season with a 64–18 record, which was the best record in the league. The team went 16-3 in the playoffs to win the 2024 NBA Championship.
Credit: Wu Xiaoling/Xinhua via Getty
White's teammate, Jayson Tatum, went viral for his sweet celebration with his son, Jayson "Deuce" Christopher Tatum Jr, on the court after the big win in Boston.
In the adorable clip, Deuce can be seen hugging his dad as he exclaims, “Daddy!” with a huge smile across his face. Jayson then throws his son into the air and catches him as green and white confetti rains down around them. The father-son duo embrace in a celebratory, emotional hug before Jayson sits his son back down onto the court.
As of March 18, the Boston Celtics have a 45-23 record in the 2025-26 NBA season. Boston is second in the East, following the Detroit Pistons.
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