Royce White didn't play an NBA game in his rookie season due in part to his anxiety disorder. He won't play in the first few preseason games with the Philadelphia 76ers this year, either.
Royce White misses 76ers’ trip overseas
The second-year forward with a fear of flying was reportedly excused from the team’s trip to Europe.
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Head coach Brett Brown excused White from the Sixers’ preseason trip to Europe, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
However, the 6-foot-8 forward, who has an anxiety disorder, wasn’t among the 14 players who flew here Thursday. The Sixers will face Bilbao Basket on Sunday at the Bizkala Arena at Bilbao Exhibition Center. On Tuesday, they will face Oklahoma City in Manchester, England.
“It really was just based on our team doctor giving me and [general manager] Sam [Hinkie] and the club advice that it may be best for him to remain at home,” Sixers coach Brett Brown said of White’s absence. “You know we are with him. We will support and help him.”
White's fear of flying was well-documented last year while he butted heads with the Houston Rockets' team doctors. White has already stated his continued reluctance to fly a full NBA schedule, even after flaming out with the Rockets one season after the team drafted him with the No. 16 pick in the 2012 draft.
The tone of Brown’s comments, however, vary widely with the whispers that were consistently leaking out of Rockets camp last year. We’ll see what happens when the Sixers return stateside.
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