LILLE (France) - The stands were not even half full back then. Las Vegas offers a lot of fun activities, and in 2018, seeing Frank Mason, Chasson Randle, Dwayne Bacon or Henry Ellenson play basketball wasn't that high on the list, gathering a crowd in hundreds, not thousands.
The team then went on to take a flight to Panama City, where they saw a capacity crowd, and it probably motivated them even more to hold their hosts to just 48 points.
Fast forward to 2024, Mason has just signed a contract with Scafati in Italy. Randle finished his season in Athens, wearing the black-and-yellow of AEK.
Bacon went to Puerto Rico, booking a deal with Leones de Ponce. Ellenson struggled with injuries and wasn't able to make his debut with the Ibaraki Robots in Japan.
All of them probably still have one thing in common, all over the world. They are smiling when they turn on the TV, flip the channel to the Olympics and see their former teammate from those two games against Uruguay in Las Vegas and Panama in Panama City. But now, he is a member of one of the strongest teams ever.
That's the Derrick White way for you. From half empty stands in Las Vegas to 27,000 fans at the Pierre Mauroy Stadium at the Olympics.
"This is the highest level, USA Basketball has such a great history and to be a part of it, to be a part of a team that's bigger than yourself is something you dream about as a kid," Derrick White told USA Basketball as he was named to the Olympic team.
He was 24 years old when he was named to the September Window team, helping USA to a pair of wins over Uruguay and Panama in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Americas Qualifiers.
With coach Jeff van Gundy calling the plays, White had 14 points and 6 assists in 19 minutes against Uruguay, and 5 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists against Panama. He was +40 in the first game, +21 in the other one.
Seeing White do his thing, Team USA invited him back to the training camp the following summer. He was supposed to be there just as a member of Select Team, but once again, Derrick White doing Derrick White stuff, he was promoted to the senior national team, and took part in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019.
"Being a part of that team was special, coming from the Select Team to the national team was a pretty crazy turn of events. Having the experience with the FIBA rules definitely helps all of us," White recalled those days.
It's exactly along the lines of what coach Steve Kerr said after USA defeated South Sudan 103-86 in Lille. White needed just 17 minutes off the bench to pick up 10 points, hit three threes in three tries, with three steals and his trademark block on Carlik Jones at the rim.
He's a winner, he's a FIBA player - Steve Kerr
"Derrick White is a phenomenal basketball player. He's a winner, he's a FIBA player," coach Kerr said, then explained further:
"FIBA's different. For every single guy there's some different rules, different flow. Derrick is a champion, he's a phenomenal basketball player and he'll continue to make a huge impact for us."
While the regular fans or fans of other NBA teams have been in awe of all the little things White does on the floor at the Olympics, the Boston Celtics' followers probably have shoulder inflammation from all the times they had to shrug and say "we told you so."
The fact that he was the last one to join this team, after Kawhi Leonard had to withdraw from the team, that doesn't even matter to Derrick. He just jumped on the next plane and was ready to go with Team USA.
"They just wanted me to come and play my game, be on the ball, off ball, guard, run the floor, just do the things that made me successful in the NBA. They just felt I'd be a good fit for the team."
Safe to say, they were right. Actually, "a good fit" sums up his career perfectly. Whether it was playing Division II or Division I in the NCAA, playing the NBA G League, playing with the San Antonio Spurs or Boston Celtics, playing with the World Cup Qualifiers team or this star-studded lineup at the Olympics, Derrick White has always been a good fit.
"Every person that walks into that locker room is just someone who's done unbelievable things in the game of basketball. We've got legends of the game that will be remembered forever. Learning from them, listening to them, is a big reason why I wanted to be here. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity."
Time to seize it now. Olympic gold is just four games away from White. Imagine telling him that in Las Vegas six years ago.
FIBA