Royce White, a first-round pick in the 2012 NBA draft, has won the Republican primary for a Minnesota Senate seat.
After a very public battle with anxiety highlighted by his fear of flyingIt became difficult for White to get on the field during his professional career.
Even hearing his name called in the NBA draft is no small feat, and White had an impressive college career in the Big 12 for Iowa State. He also had success playing in Canada, but he never reached his full potential in the NBA.
White, who was a strong advocate of mental health policy and also a general league reviewonly played nine minutes in three NBA gamesHe never recorded any points, rebounds, assists, steals or blocks.
Actually, by StatheadHis career efficiency rating (PER) is the worst of any first-round pick ever selected in the NBA draft. He also had the Lowest Plus-Minus Box (BPM) of any first-round pick since 2004.
BREAKING: Royce White, a former NBA star and current supporter of former President Donald Trump, won the Minnesota Republican Senate primary on Tuesday. https://t.co/y9682g9Agh
— HuffPost (@HuffPost) August 14, 2024
Yet despite his lack of success on the court, White was recently dubbed a “former NBA star” after his primary victory.
The candidate, who lost a Republican primary in an effort to unseat Rep. Ilhan Omar for Congress in 2022, is considered unlikely to win the general election against incumbent Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
He has raised some concerns because of several of his recent comments, including saying that women are “too talkative” to former media executive and currently imprisoned criminal Steve Bannon.
White has created controversy elsewhere because of Comments on the Jewish peopleTHE LGBTQ Communityand he looked at several regarding conspiracy theories.
Her Campaign finances have also been called into questionand independently, he would face potential prison time due to unpaid alimony.
All of which is to say that, even putting politics aside, it was easy for sports fans to question the use of the word “star” to describe White’s NBA career.
Fans disagreed with this characterization.
Calling Royce White a “former NBA star” is certainly a choice.
To put it in context, Royce White, Donald Trump and Joe Biden all have the same number of career points in the NBA. https://t.co/qYhAm5vR26
— Mitch Howe (@RealMitchHowe) August 14, 2024
Royce White played nine minutes in the NBA. He is not a former NBA star. https://t.co/Dg59jIMY3w
— Andrew Ungvari (@DrewUnga) August 14, 2024
Me and Royce White scored the same amount of points in the NBA. He’s not a star. https://t.co/FkFqMesSnB pic.twitter.com/G7jHTpQ9qK
— Wells P (@Wells_P) August 14, 2024
Fun fact: Royce White, the “NBA star,” and I have the exact same number of points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks in the NBA.
ZERO. https://t.co/CgHKB87E2P pic.twitter.com/aAcjlHvPKz
— Qasim Rashid, Esq. (@QasimRashid) August 14, 2024
The funny thing about Royce White being called a “former NBA star” is that if he really was, he wouldn’t be doing what he’s doing.
– Jennay Sehkwa (@Beatlove91) August 14, 2024
“NBA star” is a real exaggeration
— Ricky Chu (@RikDaddy) August 14, 2024
“Star” may be a bit of an exaggeration, according to HuffPo.
He was enlisted.
I played 3 NBA games.
— Yo Still TWITTER (@YoNewChi) August 14, 2024
The funny thing about Royce White being called a “former NBA star” is that if he really was, he wouldn’t be doing what he’s doing.
– Jennay Sehkwa (@Beatlove91) August 14, 2024
“Former NBA star” Royce White played three NBA games and did not score a single point during his NBA career. https://t.co/kd8vhgzEeP
— Douglas Farmer (@D_Farmer) August 14, 2024
