Tag: Royce White

Royce White, who won the Minnesota Republican Senate primary, was never an NBA star

Royce White scored as many points in the NBA as President Joe Biden.

Royce White, who was selected in the first-round of the 2012 NBA Draft, won the Republican primary for a senate seat in Minnesota.

After a very public battle with anxiety highlighted by his fear of flying, it became difficult for White to ever get on the court during his professional career.

Even hearing your name called in the NBA draft is no easy task, and White did have an impressive collegiate career in the Big 12 for Iowa State. He also had success while playing in Canada, but he never reached anywhere near his full potential in the NBA.

White, who was an outspoken advocate for mental health policy and also a general critic of the league, only played nine minutes across three games in the NBA. He never recorded any points, rebounds, assists, steals, or blocks.

In fact, per Stathead, his career Player Efficiency Rating (PER) ranks as the worst of any first-round pick ever selected in the NBA Draft. He also had the lowest Box Plus-Minus (BPM) of any first-round pick since 2004.

Yet despite the lack of success on the court, White was still recently labeled as a “former NBA star” after his primary win.

The nominee, who lost a Republican primary in an attempt to unseat Rep. Ilhan Omar for congress in 2022, is considered unlikely to win the general election against incumbent Senator Amy Klobuchar.

He has raised some concerns due to many of his recent comments, such as stating that women are “too mouthy” to former media executive and currently imprisoned felon Steve Bannon.

White has elsewhere created controversy due to comments about Jewish people, the LGBTQ community, and he has leaned into several concerning conspiracy theories.

His campaign finances have also come into question, and independently, he reportedly faces a potential jail sentence due to unpaid child support.

All of this to say, even with politics aside, it was easy for sports fans to wonder about  the use of the word “star” when describing White’s NBA career.

Fans didn’t agree with this characterization

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Former Rockets draft pick Royce White wins U.S. Senate primary in Minnesota

Former Rockets draft pick Royce White, who never played a game in Houston, is now the Republican party’s U.S. Senate candidate in Minnesota.

Former first-round draft pick Royce White, who never played a regular-season game with the Rockets after his 2012 selection, is now the Republican party’s U.S. Senate candidate in Minnesota.

White, 33, will now challenge Amy Klobuchar — the incumbent Democratic Senator — in November’s general election.

ESPN has more on White’s unique story:

Conservative populist and former NBA player Royce White defeated Navy veteran Joe Fraser in Minnesota’s primary election for the Republican nomination.

White was a first-round pick by the Rockets in 2012 but never played for the team after disclosing mental health issues and saying he did not want to fly to road games with the team. He signed multiple 10-day contacts with the Sacramento Kings in 2013, playing in three games, but was eventually let go before playing overseas for several years.

The 33-year-old White, who was an outspoken advocate for mental health awareness in sports, also considered a future in mixed martial arts but lost his only professional fight in 2021.

White has made a number of social media comments that have been denounced as derogatory.

White, the No. 16 overall pick of the 2012 first round, did play for Houston during games in the 2012-13 preseason. He also played for the Rockets in the NBA’s preceding 2012 summer league.

After a standoff with the team in late 2012, White played some games with the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Vipers, Houston’s NBA G League affiliate. In an average of 25.6 minutes over 16 games, the 6-foot-8 forward averaged 11.4 points (44.4% FG), 5.7 rebounds, and 3.3 assists. He was then traded away in the 2013 offseason.

White played college basketball for the Iowa State Cyclones, where he led the 2011-12 team in nearly all major statistical categories.

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Daiqwon Buckley spoils former NBA player Royce White’s professional MMA debut at LFA 120

Former NBA player Royce White had his pro MMA debut spoiled by Daiqwon Buckley at LFA 120.

Former NBA player [autotag]Royce White[/autotag]’s MMA debut didn’t go as planned.

On the main card of LFA 120 on Friday evening, White (0-1) made his professional MMA debut against fellow debuting fighter, Daiqwon Buckley, in a heavyweight contest.

The event took place at the Mystic Lake Casino Hotel in Prior Lake, Minn., and aired on UFC Fight Pass.

White, who was drafted by the Houston Rockets in 2012, announced his transition to the MMA cage in 2019 after being waived by the Sacramento Kings during the 2013-14 season.

Buckley (1-0), a former collegiate football player, is quite the athlete himself which made for an intriguing matchup for both fighters heading into Friday evening.

The height discrepancy was jarring as the 6-foot-8 White towered over 5-foot-11 Buckley inside the cage. However, as the fight would play out, the difference in height was made up for by Sanford MMA trained Buckley’s wrestling.

White showed some flashes of potential as a fighter throughout the bout. He displayed a snappy left-hand jab and good kick techniques. When the fight was brought to the mat, he showed the ability to work from his back to get the fight standing again.

Ultimately, Buckley’s wrestling told the story of the contest. The stockier fighter was able to get in on White’s legs and bring the fight to the canvas a number of times over three rounds, which led to a unanimous decision victory for the former college football player.

All three judges saw the fight in favor of Buckley, turning in scores of 30-27, 29-28, and 29-28.

Up-to-the-minute results of LFA 120 include:

  • Daiqwon Buckley def. Royce White via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Felipe Martinez def. Henry Huff via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Billy Elekana def. Jeff Nielsen via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

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Former NBA player Royce White to make MMA debut at LFA 120

Two years after announcing his transition to MMA, Royce White is set for his debut.

Two years after announcing his transition to MMA, former NBA player [autotag]Royce White[/autotag] is set for his debut.

White, who was drafted by the Houston Rockets in 2012, will meet former football player [autotag]Daiqkwon Buckley[/autotag] on the main card of LFA 120, which takes place Friday at Mystic Lake Casino Hotel in Prior Lake, Minn., and streams on UFC Fight Pass.

A person with knowledge of the matchup confirmed the news to MMA Junkie but asked to remain anonymous because the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

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Born and raised in Minneapolis, White, 30, will be making his MMA debut in his home state. After being drafted by the Rockets, White was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers. He was waived and signed by the Sacramento Kings. His regular season NBA experience was only three games with the Kings during the 2013-14 season. White announced that he was transitioning to MMA in 2019 in a book titled “MMA x NBA, A Critique of Modern Sport in America.”

A former fullback at Temple University, Buckley has competed twice as an amateur, splitting his two appearances. The 25-year-old last competed in April 2017 when he scored a third-round submission under the PA Cage Fight promotional banner.

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Royce White believes Draymond Green and LeBron James are ‘mistaken’

Should the NBA’s players have resumed the 2020 Playoffs? One former first-round pick says no.

Many NBA fans may not be familiar with Royce White, but history has is on his side. And according to the former first-round pick of the Houston Rockets, both Draymond Green and LeBron James got it wrong.

The NBA’s players shouldn’t be playing.

White’s comments came on the heels of Green’s first appearance on CNN as a contributor. In an interview with Jake Tapper, Green laid out his case for arguing that the NBA’s players would be better serving social justice reform by playing than by sitting.

James — who admitted on TNT on Saturday night that he considered not returning to the court — was also the subject of some veiled criticism from White.

White — a first-round pick of the Houston Rockets back in 2012 — ended up having just a cup of coffee in the NBA. Despite being a pretty talented player, immediately after being drafted, reports began to circulate that White and the Rockets front office were having a conflict related to the terms of his contract.

Back then, it was reported that White had anxiety issues related to flying, and he soon thereafter became an advocate for mental health awareness. In total, White would only play three games for an NBA team. He was eventually traded by the Rockets to the Philadelphia 76ers, who waived him.

Years later, the likes of Commissioner Adam Silver, Kevin Love and Paul George have all recognized that there are tons of NBA players who have been suffering from mental health issues, and it’s become an area of concern for many of the league’s teams.

So despite the fact that White never became a superstar in the NBA, he’s someone whose opinion holds some weight — he is respected in the fraternity.

And if you ask White, Green and James deserve some criticism. The NBA’s players shouldn’t have ended their protest and shouldn’t have agreed to take the court and resume the 2020 NBA Playoffs.

White said as much to TMZ, appearing on an episode of TMZ Sports Roundtable along with the NFL’s Brandon Marshall and WNBA’s Angel McCoughtry.

Ex-NBA player Royce White says his friend Draymond Green is just wrong to say NBA players should continue the playoffs … explaining why the right move is for everyone to exit the bubble ASAP!!…

“He’s mistaken, he’s off the path with that,” White said about Draymond … “This is not about awareness campaigns anymore. Report to the front lines. If you can’t report to the front lines, then send aid…

White also had advice for LeBron James — “Go to Akron Ohio. March with the people. Stay there until something really changes, and If they choose to be all the way violent, let your body be laying in the street when it’s over.”

If there’s one thing to appreciate about White, it’s that he’s always been unafraid to speak his mind. In that respect, he actually is quite similar to Draymond Green, who refers to Green as White’s “friend.”

In the aftermath of the NBA players’ protest, the league has agreed to get a bit more involved in social justice reform, including facilitating the use of its buildings and facilities as polling sites on Election Day.

Obviously, though, White feels that the league’s players, including Green and James, could’ve done better.

Tennessee offers 2021 Georgia defensive end

Tennessee offers 2021 Georgia defensive end.

Tennessee has offered 2021 weak-side defensive end Royce White out of Lagrange, Ga, according to his Twitter account.

Though White does not hold any player rankings yet on the 247Sports Composite, he has the size needed for a potential SEC defensive end at 6-foot-5, 230-pounds.

White will make his way onto Tennessee’s campus on Feb. 1 to visit the first SEC school to put an offer on the table.

Other schools with offers for White include Louisville, Georgia Tech, Purdue and Nebraska.

The period between the end of the 2019 season and the beginning of spring football in 2020 has been a huge opportunity for college coaches to catch up on the recruiting trail, and Tennessee has been no different. Stay posted to Vols Wire for more updates on Tennessee recruiting.