‘It’s a family here’ says White ahead of return

Over the past two seasons, few Australians have put together a more impressive resume than Jack White.

Having signed back with Melbourne United on Wednesday, White is coming off two seasons playing throughout the NBA and G League.

2023 saw the athletic forward claim an NBA championship with the Denver Nuggets before returning to Australia to join the Boomers for the FIBA World Cup.

Following this, another American stint, which saw him picked #1 in the G League Draft, begat more opportunities, ultimately finishing with a four-game stretch with the Memphis Grizzlies.

Now, having put pen to paper for another NBL campaign with United, White can’t wait to feel the love from the club and its fans once again.

“It was really a no-brainer for me, honestly,” he said.

“It’s a family here and it just makes sense for me to be here. The club has always supported me in my goals and you can see that in this new deal… I think being here is the best pathway for me to go down when it comes to getting back to the NBA.”

LISTEN TO DEAN VICKERMAN BREAK DOWN THE IMPACT OF WHITE'S RETURN

From his first day walking back into Melbourne United’s home of Hoop City, White spoke about a feeling of comfort and security being surrounded by staff and teammates that he knows have his best intentions at heart.

“Everyone here is the best in the business and that goes from my teammates to the people in the front office to the high performance staff.

“This community is second to none in terms of the support we get from our fans, it just feels like home.

“Putting all that together, there really isn’t another team that could provide me with everything Melbourne can when it comes to being the best player I can be and potentially getting back to the NBA one day.”

More than anything, White is back in Melbourne with one goal in mind; a championship.

In NBL21, an achilles injury forced the Duke product to watch from the sidelines as his teammates hoisted the trophy, however now, surrounded by a collection of elite talent, White is laser focussed on adding another banner to the rafters at John Cain Arena.

“Our last championship I was on the sidelines with an injury, and I aspire to help deliver another championship here in Melbourne with my play on the court,” he explained.

“The guys at this club are proven winners and they’re guys that I’ve looked up to for a lot of my journey.

“Someone like CG (Chris Goulding) has been winning at the highest level here for years, Delly (Matthew Dellavedova) is someone I aspired to be like as a country Victorian, Shili (Shea Ili) is someone I can’t say enough about in terms of what he does for this team, Luke (Travers) is an elite talent.

“The opportunity to be on the court, competing for a championship with those guys was a massive reason why I wanted to be here if I’m not in the NBA. They’re the type of people you want to be around every day.”

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