The record was going to inevitably fall this season, it was more just a question of when and who would break the Celtics’ single-season 3-point record. The answer came in the Celtics’ win over the Grizzlies on Monday. With 9:51 left in the fourth quarter, White knocked down a 3-pointer that was his 246th make of the season to break the franchise record.
Interestingly, White credited his shortcomings in the 2022 NBA Finals for getting him to this point in his career. The Celtics lost to the Warriors in six games back then, and the way Golden State guarded him throughout that series ended up changing his life. Now, he’s one of the lethal shooters in the league — and a dangerous clutch player, too.
“After the Finals, I feel like that was the biggest summer of my life,” White told reporters in Memphis. “What happened in the Finals and how I was being guarded on that stage, it was one of my lowest points. Like I told Draymond (Green) after the (2024) Olympics, he kind of changed my life because they weren’t guarding me.
“So I had to go in that summer and me and my trainer, Marcus Mason, just focused on being consistent. And from that point, I just got better and better.”
White’s made 3 broke Isaiah Thomas’ record from the 2016-17 season, where the former All-Star knocked down 245 3s that year. But in a fun twist, it’s a three-man race for the top spot the rest of the season. Jayson Tatum (240 makes) and Payton Pritchard (238) are both slightly behind White in the record books. So with seven games left in the season, one of them could catch White.
The Celtics have broken plenty of 3-point records this season. Pritchard and White made NBA history when they each made at least nine 3-pointers in a win over the Trail Blazers earlier this year. Sam Hauser went into the history books on his own when he made seven 3s in one quarter against the Jazz.
White joked that he hopes Pritchard and Tatum forget about the record so they don’t go out shooting for it. While White has a modest lead above them, it only takes one hot-shooting night to change the equation. So it’s a nice feel-good story Monday as the Celtics also keep picking up victories.
“We talked about it on the plane and it’s pretty cool that three of us are so close to doing something special,“ White said. ”Honestly, looking back at my career, never thought I’d be in this position. So just thankful for the coaching staff, thankful for the guys on this team. I know I wouldn’t be able to do it without them. I’ll hold it for now until one of them breaks my record, so that’s cool.”
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