NBA summer league play is taking place in Las Vegas this week. It’s a fun dose of basketball for fans to enjoy after four long weeks since the conclusion of the 2025–26 NBA season. It’s also a first look at the highly-touted 2026 draft class as they dip a toe into the professional waters.
For coaching staffs, it’s a time to experiment. As the Celtics showed on Sunday.
Boston assistant Amile Jefferson is heading the C’s summer league team in Las Vegas. He led the squad to a win on Friday night before taking on the Hornets two days later for the second game on the summer league schedule. His group of assistants included a rather familiar face for the Charlotte contest.
Keen-eyed observers were quick to spot the one and only Derrick White on the Celtics’ bench for the game. White was spotted at the first game but in courtside seats and casual attire alongside teammates Jayson Tatum, Neemias Queta and Jordan Walsh. On Sunday he was adorned in the same bright pink Celtics polo the rest of the coaches were wearing, was seated in the coaching area and occasionally held a whiteboard. It’s not clear how involved he was with the strategy of the game but he was definitely coaching up his teammates during timeouts.
Boston would go on to beat Charlotte to remain undefeated in summer league play thus far. Jefferson explained after the game he has a close relationship with White and the All-Defense guard suggested he join Jefferson on the sideline, which the head coach was welcome to.
“He’s such a good guy, man. Me and him have gotten really close. Love that dude,” Jefferson told reporters after the game. “Obviously, he’s incredible off the court, and more incredible on the court. And me and him have a great relationship. We talked about it. He was like, ‘I’m going to come coach a game.’ I was like, ‘Come on, let’s do it.’”
Normally this would be nothing more than a silly foot note for the summer league archives. But White’s presence on the sideline did raise some eyebrows—because the NBA, very recently, ruled another player couldn’t do the same thing.
The Jazz were one of the earliest teams to begin their summer league schedule in Vegas. For their July 9 contest against the Wizards, Utah wanted to have up-and-coming star Keyonte George to be part of the coaching staff. A few days beforehand, Jazz reporter Sarah Todd reported the front office and George’s agent had come to an agreement to have him on the sideline for the Washington game; all seemed well.
But the night before the game, the league reversed course. Todd reported on July 8 that the NBA, “reviewing the situation and relying on precedent,” ruled George could not participate in coaching summer league as an active player.
“The Jazz were informed Wednesday that George, the same as any other active player, will not be allowed to take on any kind of official coaching role, in summer league or otherwise, even without compensation,” Todd wrote. “George is not the first active NBA player who has wanted to join the coaching ranks on the sideline, even in a volunteer capacity, according to league sources, and the league wants to keep the rules consistent across the board.”
The Jazz wound up losing, 92–88, and everybody’s life went on. But mere days later, White popped up on the sideline as a current player in a volunteer capacity—the exact circumstances George was in and the NBA denied.
At this time, we do not know what the differences were between George’s situation and White’s. Did the Celtics merely ask for forgiveness instead of permission? Did the fact that George’s agent got involved change his circumstances from a casual setup to a formalized agreement? Maybe there’s some tiny detail we’re missing under the hood that represents a loophole for Boston but for now it gives the impression the rules the NBA cited in denying George his coaching opportunity are not universally adhered to.
Even in summer league: this league. We’ll see if anything comes of this odd contradiction.
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