EARLY IN DERRICK WHITE'S second season -- but really his first, given he spent his rookie year in the G League -- the San Antonio Spurs threw him into the fire as a starter.
In one of White's first starts, on Nov. 15, 2018, against the LA Clippers, he encountered the full Patrick Beverley experience: full-court pressure, unrelenting physicality, roaring trash talk. White struggled badly. The next day, he found a note from assistant coach Chip Engelland in his locker with the date of that game and a message: This is the best thing that has happened to you.