John Havlicek vs. Derrick White Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Derrick White and John Havlicek, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season / Stats / Stats Rankings

Who had the better rookie season? Who had best stats in their 10th season? Who won a championship first? These questions and many others, are answered here.

John Havlicek played 16 years in the NBA, 8 more than Derrick White, who played 8. John Havlicek had the first of his seasons in 1962-63, while Derrick White had his rookie season in 2017-18. With that starting point, here you can take a look at each of their seasons side by side and compare how their careers evolved in achievements, awards and championships won, the stats they recorded both in the Regular Season and the Playoffs and how their teams performed in the postseason.

Their Careers

Player
Total Seasons Playoffs Played NBA Years
John Havlicek 16 13 1962-63 to 1977-78
Derrick White 8 6 2017-18 to 2024-25

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8

Rookie Season

John Havlicek Derrick White
Season 1962-632017-18
Team Boston CelticsSan Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Rookie First Team-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionSpurs Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
John Havlicek 80 27.5 14.3 - - 6.7 2.2 - - - 2.4 6.0 13.6 .445 - - - 2.2 3.0 .728
difference:+63+19.3+11.1+5.2+1.7-1.9+5.1+11.7+.040+1.4+1.8+.028
Derrick White 17 8.2 3.2 0.3 1.2 1.5 0.5 0.2 0.2 0.4 0.5 0.9 1.9 .485 0.5 0.8 .615 0.8 1.2 .700
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
John Havlicek 11 23.1 11.8 - - 4.8 1.5 - - - 2.5 5.1 11.4 .448 - - - 1.6 2.5 .667
difference:+8+17.1+9.5+4.8+1.2-2.5+4.1+9.4+.052+1.6+2.5
Derrick White 3 6.0 2.3 0.0 0.0 0 0.3 0.3 0.7 0.0 0.0 1.0 2.0 .500 0.3 0.7 .500 0.0 0.0 -

Season 2

John Havlicek Derrick White
Season 1963-642018-19
Team Boston CelticsSan Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionSpurs Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
John Havlicek 80 32.3 19.9 - - 5.4 3.0 - - - 2.8 8.0 19.2 .417 - - - 3.9 5.3 .746
difference:+13+6.5+10.0+1.7+0.9-0.6+4.1+11.1+.062+2.5+3.5+.026
Derrick White 67 25.8 9.9 0.5 3.2 3.7 3.9 1.0 0.7 1.4 2.2 3.9 8.1 .479 0.7 2.1 .338 1.4 1.8 .772
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
John Havlicek 10 28.9 15.7 - - 4.3 3.2 - - - 2.6 6.1 15.9 .384 - - - 3.5 4.4 .795
difference:+3+1.6+0.6+1.3+0.2-0.2+0.2+5.2+.163+0.8+0.7+.064
Derrick White 7 27.3 15.1 0.1 2.9 3.0 3.0 0.7 0.7 2.1 2.4 5.9 10.7 .547 0.7 2.4 .294 2.7 3.7 .731

Season 3

John Havlicek Derrick White
Season 1964-652019-20
Team Boston CelticsSan Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionDid Not Play
more >>
3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
John Havlicek 75 28.9 18.3 - - 4.9 2.7 - - - 2.7 7.6 18.9 .401 - - - 3.1 4.2 .744
difference:+7+4.2+7.0+1.6+0.8-0.5+3.9+10.8+.057+0.5+1.1+.109
Derrick White 68 24.7 11.3 0.5 2.8 3.3 3.5 0.6 0.9 1.3 2.2 3.7 8.1 .458 1.2 3.2 .366 2.6 3.1 .853
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
John Havlicek 12 33.8 18.5 - - 7.3 2.4 - - - 3.7 7.3 20.8 .352 - - - 3.8 4.6 .836
Derrick White DNP------ --- ----------

Season 4

John Havlicek Derrick White
Season 1965-662020-21
Team Boston CelticsSan Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionDid Not Play
more >>
4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
John Havlicek 71 30.6 18.8 - - 6.0 3.0 - - - 2.2 7.5 18.7 .399 - - - 3.9 4.9 .785
difference:+35+1.0+3.4+3.0+0.5-0.3+2.3+6.1+.012+1.2+1.7+.066
Derrick White 36 29.6 15.4 0.4 2.6 3.0 3.5 0.7 1.0 1.3 2.5 5.2 12.6 .411 2.3 6.8 .346 2.7 3.2 .851
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
John Havlicek 17 42.3 23.6 - - 9.1 4.1 - - - 4.1 9.0 22.0 .409 - - - 5.6 6.6 .841
Derrick White DNP------ --- ----------

Season 5

John Havlicek Derrick White
Season 1966-672021-22
Team Boston CelticsSan Antonio Spurs, Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Div FinalsCeltics Lost NBA Finals
more >>
5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
John Havlicek 81 32.1 21.4 - - 6.6 3.4 - - - 2.6 8.4 19.0 .444 - - - 4.5 5.4 .828
difference:+6+2.8+8.2+3.1+1.5-0.3+3.9+8.3+.023+1.8+2.3+.036
Derrick White 75 29.3 13.2 0.5 3.0 3.5 4.9 0.9 0.8 1.6 2.3 4.5 10.7 .421 1.5 4.9 .312 2.7 3.1 .864
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
John Havlicek 9 36.7 27.4 - - 8.1 3.1 - - - 3.3 10.6 23.6 .448 - - - 6.3 7.9 .803
difference:+14+11.3+18.9+5.1+0.4-1.3+7.8+15.9+.084+4.5+5.7+.021
Derrick White 23 25.4 8.5 0.3 2.7 3.0 2.7 0.9 0.6 1.3 2.0 2.8 7.7 .364 1.1 3.6 .313 1.8 2.2 .824

Season 6

John Havlicek Derrick White
Season 1967-682022-23
Team Boston CelticsBoston Celtics
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
-Achievement All-Defensive Second Team
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionCeltics Lost East Conf Finals
more >>
6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
John Havlicek 82 35.6 20.7 - - 6.7 4.7 - - - 2.9 8.1 18.9 .429 - - - 4.5 5.5 .812
difference:+7.3+8.3+3.1+0.8-0.7+3.8+9.7+.033+2.5+3.2+.063
Derrick White 82 28.3 12.4 0.6 2.9 3.6 3.9 0.7 0.9 1.2 2.2 4.3 9.2 .462 1.8 4.8 .381 2.0 2.3 .875
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
John Havlicek 19 45.4 25.9 - - 8.6 7.5 - - - 3.5 9.7 21.4 .452 - - - 6.6 7.9 .828
difference:+1+15.7+12.5+5.6+5.4-1.6+5.0+12.2+.053+5.0+6.2+.084
Derrick White 20 29.7 13.4 0.7 2.3 3.0 2.1 0.6 1.0 0.9 1.9 4.7 9.2 .505 2.5 5.5 .455 1.6 1.7 .912

Season 7

John Havlicek Derrick White
Season 1968-692023-24
Team Boston CelticsBoston Celtics
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Defensive Second TeamAchievement All-Defensive Second Team
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionNBA Champion NBA Champion
more >>
7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
John Havlicek 82 38.7 21.6 - - 7.0 5.4 - - - 3.0 8.4 20.8 .405 - - - 4.7 6.0 .780
difference:+9+6.1+6.4+2.8+0.2-0.9+3.1+9.3+.056+2.8+3.9+.121
Derrick White 73 32.6 15.2 0.7 3.5 4.2 5.2 1.0 1.2 1.5 2.1 5.3 11.5 .461 2.7 6.8 .396 1.9 2.1 .901
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
John Havlicek 18 47.2 25.4 - - 9.9 5.6 - - - 3.2 9.4 21.2 .445 - - - 6.6 7.7 .855
difference:+1+11.6+8.7+5.6+1.5-0.9+3.7+8.5+.007+4.8+5.7+.066
Derrick White 19 35.6 16.7 1.0 3.3 4.3 4.1 0.9 1.2 0.8 2.3 5.7 12.7 .452 3.4 8.5 .404 1.8 2.0 .921

Season 8

John Havlicek Derrick White
Season 1969-702024-25
Team Boston CelticsBoston Celtics
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Did Not PlayCeltics Lost East Conf Semis
more >>
8th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
John Havlicek 81 41.6 24.2 - - 7.8 6.8 - - - 2.6 9.1 19.6 .464 - - - 6.0 7.1 .844
difference:+5+7.7+7.8+3.3+2.0-0.8+3.5+7.0+.022+4.2+5.0+.005
Derrick White 76 33.9 16.4 0.9 3.6 4.5 4.8 0.9 1.1 1.7 1.8 5.6 12.6 .442 3.5 9.1 .384 1.8 2.1 .839
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
John Havlicek DNP------ --- ----------
Derrick White 11 37.7 18.8 1.3 3.8 5.1 3.5 0.6 1.1 1.2 2.0 6.2 13.4 .463 3.6 9.5 .385 2.8 3.3 .861

Additional Years

* John Havlicek played 8 seasons more than Derrick White in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 9 to 16, from 1971 to 1978—John Havlicek played in 6 Playoffs and won two NBA Championships.

In those 8 extra years over Derrick White, John Havlicek got these achievements:

Honors & AwardsAchievement 1 Finals MVP
Achievement 4 All-NBA First Team
Achievement 2 All-NBA Second Team
Achievement 5 All-Defensive First Team
Achievement 1 All-Defensive Second Team
Achievement 8 All-Star Game