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.
Republican Royce White, a former NBA player, has defeated Joe Fraser in the Minnesota primary election and will face incumbent Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar on the November ballot. https://t.co/gBeOqFbIuP
— CBS News (@CBSNews) August 14, 2024
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.
