During the first overtime, White took and made a shot (a 35-foot runner[10]) as the buzzer sounded, but he was ruled out of bounds by referee Rudy Marich.

[16] The team was not expected to win the gold medal due to many future Hall of Fame players either declining to participate (e.g. Lew Alcindor, Elvin Hayes) or not being chosen (e.g. Pete Maravich, Calvin Murphy, Dan Issel).

[18] The American team, led by White and Haywood unexpectedly went undefeated (9–0), beating Yugoslavia 65–50 in the gold medal game.

[22] There was some reluctance during the time of the basketball draft as White had a mandatory two-year military commitment with the US Marine Corps.

[23] Then Boston general manager, Red Auerbach was able to shorten White's commitment and allow him to participate in the 1969–70 NBA season.

[24]However, before White even reported to training camp, the Celtics' center and player-coach Bill Russell announced his retirement and cut ties to the organization.

[25] The Celtic's long-time shooting guard Sam Jones also ended his career, requiring White to replace those duties.

The Celtics got back on track by drafting Dave Cowens, trading for Paul Silas, retaining veteran John Havlicek, and hiring coach Tommy Heinsohn.

In 1972, he participated in the now-defunct NBA One-on-One 16-man tournament where he reached the championship (which occurred during halftime of Game 5 of the Finals) and faced 6'11" Detroit Piston Bob Lanier, who used his eight-inch height advantage to win the $15,000 prize.

They faced the Milwaukee Bucks who were returning with their championship-winning core from the 1971 NBA Finals, including future Hall of Fame members Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson.

With the Bucks' starting point guard, Lucius Allen, injured at the onset of the playoffs, White led a small, quick line-up featuring undersized, All-Star Cowens at center, to the first Celtics championship in the Post-Russell era.

[38] With the end of the streak, White and the aging Celtics became a less effective squad and followed their championship with an exit from playoff semifinals in 1977 and then two losing seasons.

[39][40] Unable to retain his all-star form following the injury, White was traded by the Celtics to the Golden State Warriors in the middle of the 1978–79 NBA season.

In 1987 at the age of 41, White attempted a professional comeback as a player-assistant coach with the Topeka Sizzlers of the Continental Basketball Association.

[49] He was inducted alongside his former coach, Tom Heinsohn, and was formally introduced into the Hall by fellow Celtics John Havlicek and Dave Cowens.

[59][60] White appeared in two movies with small roles: 1980's Inside Moves and 2007's The Game Plan, in which his son, actor Brian J.

[62] To assist his recovery, his attorney elicited memories from White and authored a subsequent biography Make it Count that was released in 2012.

[66] White died in Boston two months past his 71st birthday, from complications of his dementia, specifically pneumonia, which was brought on when he had a benign brain tumor removed.