SAN ANTONIO — On Saturday night, the TD Garden in Boston not only hosted a thrilling game between the Celtics and Lakers but also hosted a reunion for a pair of former San Antonio Spurs guards.
Derrick White and Lonnie Walker IV got a chance to take the court together again however as opponents as White' Celtics got a 125-121 overtime win against Walker and the Lakers.
This was the second time this season the ex-Spurs met and for White, seeing his former San Antonio teammate means a lot for him.
"That's my guy," White said "He came in the year after me. We spent a lot of time together."
Both players got their first NBA steps in San Antonio.
White, drafted in 2017, and Walker, drafted in 2018, played together was Spurs from 2018-21.
But as the franchise made the decision to go with a complete rebuild, White was traded to Boston for Josh Richardson, Romeo Langford, a 2022 first-round pick, and the rights to swap 2028 first-round picks.
San Antonio would also not re-sign Walker and he signed with the Lakers as a free agent in 2022.
In their time with the Spurs, both cut their teeth in the G League with the Austin Spurs and had memorable individual performances.
Walker scored a career-high 28 points, in a 135–133 double-overtime win over the Houston Rockets in Dec. 2019.
White had an incredible playoff run versus the Denver Nuggets scoring 36 points to give San Antonio a 2–1 lead in the first round of the 2019 playoffs.
Fast forward and both are doing well with their new teams.
White is seen as the missing point guard Boston has been looking for and he's currently averaging 10.3 points per game including 3.4 assists per game and shooting 44 percent from the field through 51 games played.
Walker is currently posting a career-high in points per game at 14.6, field goal percentage at 46 percent, and free throw percentage at 87 percent for Los Angeles.
With San Antonio as their common basketball foundation, White is just glad his former teammate is doing well since their time with the Silver and Black.
And no matter what NBA uniform they wear, for White, Walker will always be his guy.
"I want to see him do good. He wants to see me do good," White said. "We're just catching up. That's my guy."
Twitter: @KENS5, @JeffGSpursKENS5