San Antonio Spurs: Ranking the last 10 first-round picks
2. Derrick White
Derrick White and Dejounte Murray won’t stop battling for starting point guard duties anytime soon. Murray seems to have the higher ceiling, but White has proven to be the better draft pick thus far.
White was drafted at the exact same slot – 29th overall – as Murray, a year later in the 2017 NBA Draft. He spent much of his rookie season in Austin, but he did suit up for 17 regular season games, averaging 3.2 points per game.
Despite having a left plantar fascia tear prior to the 2018-19 season, White took a big step forward in his development. He averaged 9.9 points, 3.9 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game, starting in 55 of the 67 games he played during the regular season.
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White saved his best performance of the year – and his career – for the postseason. In Game 3 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals, White dropped 36 points on the Denver Nuggets, propelling San Antonio to a 2-1 lead in the series.
While White has drifted back towards the bench in 2019-20, he has actually seen a slight uptick in his scoring average, running it up to 10.4 points per game. He has also improved his 3-point shooting from a year ago, averaging 35.6 percent from 3-point land.
San Antonio will likely have to make a difficult choice between White and Murray at some point. Right now, however, they simply get to enjoy the development of both point guards.