NBA Draft: Every team’s least popular pick ever

Houston Rockets – Royce White (2012)

Particularly at his second stop in college with the Iowa State Cyclones, Royce White was a force to be reckoned with. Leading up to the 2012 NBA Draft, though, White began to make headlines for an odd reason: a player trying to turn professional and play in the NBA was afraid of flying and wanted to find ways to be accommodated for his anxiety regarding such things. If only the Houston Rockets had understood how problematic that would be.

Things got off to a rocky start almost from day one with White and the Rockets organization. The forward missed the first week of training camp in his rookie year because of contract disputes that were fueled by his mental health issues. Even after coming to an agreement that included White traveling by bus rather than by plane, it was only a few games into the year—mind you, he’d yet to get on the floor—before things blew up and he was sent to the D-League.

White has only played in three NBA games since, seeing the floor for nine total minutes with the Kings in 2014. He’s become more of a punch line than the mental health advocate that many had hoped for and, what’s more, he’s done nothing on the basketball court to even remotely make up for that either.

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