Brooklyn Nets: Dariq Whitehead Impresses Despite Bulls Blowout

Dariq Whitehead scored a career-high 18 points in the Nets' Monday night defeat.

Oct 16, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Brooklyn Nets forward Dariq Whitehead (0) in a game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Dariq Whitehead’s 18 points were the best news of the night for the Brooklyn Nets in a 26-point blowout loss to the Chicago Bulls.

"It was great,” first-year head coach Jordi Fernández said. “I asked him to be ready to shoot, to play. He knows what we're about, and what we're trying to do."

Whitehead’s career-high came in only his fifth NBA game. The Nets’ wing was a five-star prospect in high school and highly touted going into his sole college season at Duke, but he’s had to deal with a litany of injury problems over the last few years. Whitehead had two right foot surgeries before getting to the NBA, and his rookie year was cut short by a season-ending shin procedure.

The 20-year-old returned with the Nets’ Summer League team, although that was a struggle as he looked to rebuild his game rhythm. Whitehead has spent most of this season until now with the Long Island Nets, Brooklyn’s G League affiliate. He pointed to a 26-point performance, his best of the year, in the G last week as a confidence boost for his game against Chicago. 

“It brought back confidence that I’ve been missing for two years dealing with the injuries and stuff, just not believing in myself,” Whitehead said.

Full highlights from the best performance of Dariq Whitehead's NBA career thus far.

18 points, six 3PM, a handful of strong defensive plays, hard not to feel happy for him: pic.twitter.com/JA5Hs4oMp6

— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) December 3, 2024

Whitehead went 6-of-12 from three in that G League game, and that may have been a sign of things to come. The second-year prospect drilled six of his ten attempted triples against the Bulls, leading his squad in points by the end of the night. Whitehead’s 3-point shooting is his most dangerous weapon right now.

He broke down his performance: “I think it was just more so about coming in and doing the small things, if that was rebounding early, taking on the best defensive assignment. I knew the offense part would come to me once I did the small things that coach wants, and I feel like it’s just staying ready.” 

Per the Nets, Whitehead became the youngest player in franchise history (20 years, 123 days) to convert six threes in a game. The former Blue Devil is also the second-youngest player to make that many triples in a game this season, trailing the Hawks' No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher.

Whitehead might continue to see more playing time if the Nets have to keep dealing with myriad injuries. Against Chicago, Brooklyn started its eighth different first five in as many games. Fernández only had 10 players available. Whitehead made a good case for himself on Monday night on a down night for the rest of the team.  

“Losing the second half by 20, it’s not good enough,” Fernández said. “We have high standards — or higher standards [with] the way we work, the way we play, the way we compete. This was not good.”

The Spanish head coach added: “This is not who we want to be and this is not our identity.” 

The Nets have now lost three games in a row and are 9-13. They have a chance to bounce back on Wednesday against the Indiana Pacers at home.

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