Luke Kornet explains why he launched hilarious ‘slander campaign’ against Derrick White
During his quest to be recognized as a good teammate, Luke Kornet launched a playful attack ad about Derrick White.
Driven by his desire to be recognized as a good teammate, Luke Kornet launched a hilarious attack ad in hopes of beating Derrick White out for the 2025 season-long Tommy Award.
The Tommy Award, named after former Celtics player, coach, and broadcaster Tommy Heinsohn, spotlights players who go above and beyond with their hustle on the court.
White was ahead of Kornet in the award standings heading into Friday’s two-game mini-series against Charlotte, so Kornet made a commercial and declared himself “The People’s Tommy Award Winner” in it.
From questioning whether White actually chipped his tooth in last year’s NBA Finals to bleeping out a random clip of Brad Stevens talking about White, Kornet seemed determined to deliver laughs as he playfully attacked his teammate in the commercial.
Kornet explained why he went on the attack after the Celtics’ regular-season finale win against the Hornets on Sunday.
“We have this little organizational award called the three ‘T’ awards that kind of recognizes people for being good teammates and stuff like that, which Derrick won last year,” Kornet said. “So, I was already prepping a slander campaign for that. I had been thinking about that for a long time, and then when the Tommy Award thing came up in the interview the other day, I was like, well, I’ve got to [act].”
The Celtics have several players with league-wide reputations as good teammates. Jrue Holiday is a three-time winner of the NBA’s Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year award, which is given to the player who best exemplifies leadership, mentorship, selfless play, and commitment to their team. Al Horford is a finalist for the award this year.
Holiday also won this year’s Auerbach Award, which is given to the player who best exemplifies what it means to be a Celtic.
So, Kornet figured he’d try to earn his recognition by winning the Tommy Award.
“Tommy Awards, I think, are important to me because of desperation for individual recognition which is what it’s all about in the end,” said Kornet.
White had some fun with his response to Kornet, smiling as he told NBC Sports Boston’s Abby Chin that he had been advised not to comment on the matter.
“My lawyers and attorneys say not to comment on it at the moment,” White said. “It’s all lies, but I can’t comment any further right now.”
Kornet’s campaign didn’t work, with White being named the Tommy Award winner for the season on Sunday. But Kornet scored 11 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and blocked four shots in the Celtics’ win against the Hornets on Sunday afternoon, marking the end of a strong regular season for him. He averaged 6.0 points and 5.3 rebounds in his best season in Boston yet.
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