This time last year Derrick White was preparing to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a Game 1 road victory over the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs. White’s solid performance, highlighted by his poster-worthy dunk on Paul Millsap, reinforced what we had learned after a breakout sophomore season: that White was going to be a key part of the Spurs’ future.
White didn’t spend his summer celebrating his success. Instead, he traveled to China with Team USA and Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich to compete in the FIBA World Cup.