Royce White, NBL’s London Lightning part ways

ISU+forward+Royce+White+tries+to+drive+the+ball+past+two+Kansas+State+defenders+during+the+first+half+of+Iowa+States+65-61+win+over+the+Wildcats+on+Saturday%2C+Feb.+25.+The+win+was+Iowa+States+21st+on+the+season.%0A

Photo: Jake Lovett/Iowa State Daily

ISU forward Royce White tries to drive the ball past two Kansas State defenders during the first half of Iowa State’s 65-61 win over the Wildcats on Saturday, Feb. 25. The win was Iowa State’s 21st on the season.

Noah Rohlfing

Former Iowa State men’s basketball player Royce White has been let go by the National Basketball League of Canada’s London Lightning, just days before the Lightning will take part in the NBL finals. 

The news comes after White was suspended for 10 games for a verbal confrontation with the league’s deputy commissioner, Audley Stephenson.

White told the Des Moines Register on Tuesday that he was “not done playing that’s for sure,” and that he would have left the NBL after the season regardless of the suspension.

White, who averaged 13.4 points, 9.3 rebounds and five assists in his one year playing for the Cyclones, had restarted his basketball career in Canada with the Lightning in December of 2016. He was named the NBL’s Most Valuable Player in 2017 and led the Lightning to an NBL championship. 

Prior to signing with the Lightning, White had last played in 2014 for the Reno Bighorns of the NBA’s G-League. 

White has been vocal about his anxiety over the years and has expressed his concern openly with the NBA’s handling of its players’ mental health and the league’s lack of a concrete mental health policy.

White was drafted 16th overall in the 2012 NBA Draft by the Houston Rockets, but he never played a game for them after clashing with the organization over the handling of his anxiety disorder. White played three games in the NBA as a member of the Sacramento Kings in March 2014.