With a minute remaining in Friday night's blowout loss to the San Antonio Spurs, the Kings sent the 2012 No. 16 overall pick to the bench to check into the game for Isaiah Thomas. True to character, White was late to the table and had to wait for Ray McCallum to take an intentional foul on the next Spurs possession so he could enter the game.
Royce White sees first NBA action for Kings on Friday
The 2012 first round pick saw his first minutes in a regular season game against the San Antonio Spurs.
It was the first time White had seen the floor in a regular season NBA game, and a solid round of applause and cheers rose through the remaining crowd at Sleep Train Arena. White has been the subject of headlines across the NBA for his well-documented struggles with anxiety. Those issues caused friction between White and the Houston Rockets, where the back-and-forth concerning his mental health resulted in a suspension, relegation to the D-League and an eventual trade to the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Sixers released White before the start of the season, and the Kings picked him up on two 10-day contracts during the month of March. White played with the Kings’ D-League affiliate, the Reno Bighorns, earlier in the month and with the season winding down in Sacramento, coach Mike Malone decided to bring him up to play at the NBA level.
More at Sactown Royalty: The Royce White dilemma
White didn't record any box score statistics, setting a couple screens and boxing out Matt Bonner a few times in his 56 seconds of play. It is likely that he will get more meaningful minutes as Sacramento takes on Milwaukee on Sunday.
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