The white-hot burning desire driving 'prime' Jack

• Jack White is currently playing in Turkey with Mersin MSK in the Basketbol Süper Ligi
• He is an NBL champion (2021), NBA champion (2023) and Bundesliga champion (2025)
• White played at Duke University with Zion Williamson

Different country, different culture, different league and a new team brings is a unique challenge for NBA champion Jack White.

But it's why the 28-year-old made the tough decision to move on from Melbourne United, the NBL team he loves, to ply his trade in Turkey this summer and add more to his bag, especially shooting the basketball.

It's his goal is to play for Australia and the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles after he was cut before the Boomers 2024 Olympic campaign in Paris, France.

"The national level, that's been a big motivator throughout my career," White exclusively told basketball.com.au.

"I was disappointed for sure (to miss Paris), but any of the adversities I've sort of gone through, it's like am I going to sit here and be down about it or am I going to move on and move on to the next thing and continue to get better.

"I'm not a perfect player, what can I improve on? What can I bring to the table to get the next Boomers camp?

"That's where my mind's at now and it's going to be increasingly challenging with how much talent we have coming through our system and it's exciting for Aussie hoops but I definitely want to tick that box.

"That's at the the forefront of not only my basketball career but my bucket list, to be honest.

"That's what I've dreamed about my whole life."

The athletic forward, who played for the Boomers at the 2023 FIBA World Cup and 2025 Asia Cup, is impressing early at Mersin MSK in the Basketbol Süper Ligi, including a 16-point, six-rebound performance against Europe powerhouse Galatasaray.

It's his second stint in Europe after playing for Bayern Munich after NBL25. White was part of a Melbourne United team, which lost an epic five-game NBL Championship Series against the Illawarra Hawks.

White won an NBA championship with the Denver Nuggets in 2023 as a two-way player with the Colorado franchise. He also played in the G-League.

Leaving the NBL and Melbourne United for Europe

White knows nothing else in the NBL apart from playing for Dean Vickerman and his beloved Melbourne United.

The Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence alum had two stints with United, one from 2020-22 where he missed the 2021 championship after tearing his achilles earlier in the season, and then for the 2024-25 season - helping the club earn its way to back-to-back championship series deciders.

He had taken his game to new heights under the tutelage of Vickerman as well as the staff and players at United, which made leaving even harder.

"It was a tough decision, it's not a secret to anyone that I love the NBL and more specifically loved being at Melbourne United," he said.

"I don't have enough good things to say about all the people involved in that club from Nick Truelson the CEO to Smirchy, our team manager and all the players and the staff, everyone is just so elite.

"On that note, I've been really enjoying seeing their their success so far to start the NBL season.

"They're they're looking really good, but it was a certainly a tough decision, and financially that's part of it I guess but I was really just looking for a new experience like.

"I'm heading into my sixth year as a professional and it feels like yesterday I only just started and obviously this is a a finite career.

"Part of my mindset and chatting with Sammy, my agent, was looking for different things where I could still earn a little bit more money but be challenged, so I can just try and keep improving as a player first and foremost."

It's an insight into the mindset of White, who believes he's in the prime of his career.

"My game is able to translate to different styles depending on where I am and obviously I was trying to knock on the door a bit of the NBA again... I have the belief that I'm an NBA level player and wanted to have another crack at that league again and and see what I could make happen.

"Especially after I guess the disappointment that I sort of felt being bit hard done by with the Nuggets and then being the last one cut from OKC, I knew I was obviously close and coming off a good year in the NBL.

"I felt like I improved and obviously I'm 28 now, I'm heading into my prime, so I really wanted to continue to challenge myself and try and play in a really good league and be challenged."

Enjoying Europe

There's no secret how much White loves Melbourne United but he may be loving the European experience just as much as he starts he's first full season in the continent is in full swing.

"First of all, it's just been cool to experience so many different leagues, cultures and countries just because of basketball, I'm definitely very fortunate to be doing what I'm doing and it was a big part of why I spent three months in Germany - to get a taste of of Europe professionally," White told basketball.com.au.

"Obviously I've done the NBL and the US, but this was sort of a foreign sort of concept and and something that I hadn't experienced so, I was definitely grateful for the Bayern Munich experience in in getting a taste of European hoops and the differences to Australia and the other things that I've experienced.

"Apart from the basketball man, I've really been enjoying the culture and the experience so far, the people over here are really nice, I love my teammates, my staff and I think that really helps sort of get you acclimated to a new place, quicker than you would otherwise.

"The weather here is really good, it's been nice to experience a new city and you know I'm trying to learn the language, which is an uphill battle... I'm enjoying it, I'm enjoying the process, enjoying learning, enjoying a new experience and looking forward to continuing to work throughout the year."

His NBA experiences and the league's cutthroat nature

Not many Australians can boast about having an NBA championship ring, well only seven people can, and White is one of them.

The boy from Traralgon in Victoria's Gippsland region signed a two-way deal with the Nuggets for the 2022-23 season. He dominated in the G League, averaging 20.9 points and 9.6 rebounds for the Grand Rapids Gold and appeared in 17 NBA games that season. Denver would go on to beat the Miami Heat 4-1 in the NBA Finals to capture the franchise's first title.

He would also get to learn from three-time MVP Nikola Jokic.

"Being with the Nuggets throughout the whole season, it was a really positive experience but there were just great people there first and foremost, a great locker room, and a great staff," he said.

"I had a massive love for the city, it was an incredible experience and obviously winning makes it sort of easier to enjoy everything that comes along with being on a basketball team but I have great relationships with all those guys, we still message here and there and I'm certainly wishing for their success every time."

But the way his Nuggets tenure ended left a sour taste in White's mouth.

"I was happy with with my play during that year and everything that I sort of put into it in my control, I felt like I played really well in the G League and I had some goals that myself and the front office people set out for myself.

"The only disappointing thing about it was sort of at the end of it all, like after we won, there was just I guess some false sort of promises that were made to me about what they're expecting and then what they were going to give me in return for achieving what I did as an individual.

"That was somewhere that I wanted to stay and was having a great time and felt like that was somewhere where I could continue to to learn and improve and and grow and be a part of a really high level basketball team, so I was definitely disappointed with how that turned out."

However, that wasn't the end for White after he signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder, but unfortunately he was the last one cut before the regular season tipped-off.

"(Being with OKC) was a great experience, I knew going into it that it was going to be sort of a dogfight to to make the final roster and it definitely was," hesaid.

"It was just one of those ones where I was the last guy cut before the regular season but getting to know the guys on that team was a great experience and really happy for them and all the majority that were there when I was there with their success they had last season.

"It's a great basketball city, Sam Presti's a genius, Coach Daigneault is an absolute genius, they have really good people at the forefront of their organisation and you know to get an insight into that. Although it was a limited period of time, it was a great experience for me and obviously just grateful for the opportunity for them to sort of open their their team and their organisation to me.

"How it ended individually for me, was obviously disappointing but that's part of basketball, man.

"There's injuries, you get cut from teams, there's different adversities, so many things that you can't control.

"As I've gotten older of really tried to pride myself on improving my mindset and focusing on the controllables and taking care of those and having trust that things will work out as best they can, and sometimes they don't.

"I wish my NBA career could have been extended and I truly felt like I was good enough and deserved it but you know, the career is far from over and you never know what can happen."

White would go on to sign a 10-day contract with the Memphis Grizzlies that season, playing in four games.

Olympic omission his hardest adversity

White has pushed through a lot of adversity in his career.

A tragic achilles injury, being cut on the eve of the NBA season, falling short in an NBL championship series but missing out on the Australian Boomers for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris may be the one that hit him the hardest.

"It's certainly up there," he admitted.

"I went to a dark place after I did the achilles for sure, like I'd had injuries prior to that but this is probably the most serious injury you can have as a basketball player.

"At the time I'm 23-years-old and I'm someone that takes great pride in looking after my body and being really good athletically and and everything like that.

"Then you can't walk the next day and you watch your calf go away and you have those questions naturally 'am I going to be the same again'. like dude?

"So, that was definitely difficult but man like ever since I started playing basketball seriously, when I was like a young teenager, I wanted to play for my country, I wanted to be an Olympian.

"The national level and that's been a big motivator throughout my career and again I was disappointed for sure, but any of the adversities I've sort of gone through, it's like am I going to sit here and be down about it or am I going to move on and move on to the next thing and continue to get better.

"I'm not a perfect player, what can I improve on? What can I bring to the table to get the next Boomers camp? That's where my mind's at now and it's going to be increasingly challenging with how much talent we have coming through our system and it's exciting for Aussie hoops but I definitely want to tick that box.

"That's at the forefront of not only my basketball career but my bucket list, to be honest.

"That's what I've dreamed about my whole life."

New era for the Boomers

It's a new era for the Australian Boomers. Not only with Adam Caporn now taking charge but a new generation, led by NBA stars Josh Giddey and Dyson Daniels, and the emergence of youngsters such as Johnny Furphy, Tyrese Proctor and projected 2026 NBA lottery pick Dash Daniels.

That makes White's dream of making the Olympic team even harder but something he can live with considering what it means for basketball in Australia.

"That's certainly nothing to complain about, like how exciting for basketball in our country," he said.

"I'm excited and honoured to even be in that conversation, to be honest with all the talent that's coming through.

"I still believe I'm more than good enough and believe I was more than good enough to play in the Olympics but that's something that's out of my control to a certain extent and that's part of it, that's life, man.

"A number of guys missed out that are incredible basketball players and that's just part of it, you've got to move on, you've got to work out how you can get better, how you can improve and I'll be knocking on the door for the next one for sure."

White has already played a major role in the new era of the Boomers as one of the elder statesman in the successful FIBA Asia Cup campaign earlier this year, which was also Caporn's first tournament as the national team coach.

"That Asia Cup experience was a great one, obviously very proud to get a gold medal for our country in whatever competition we play in but I just had such a great experience with that group, which included a lot of young talent coming through, a lot of guys that I hadn't played with before, it was good to get to know them as players and then just as people off the court as well," White said.

"I've got a really good relationship with (Caporn), he was the one that brought me to the AIS all those years ago, 10 years ago - damn time flies, man.

"But yes, being one of the older guys in the team at the Asia Cup, in terms of how I lead, I'm a very vocal sort of player on the court regardless and I think just naturally with my sort of experience that I've had and ups and downs in my career, especially there are guys that weren't playing as much in those tournaments and I've been in those shoes before.

"Helping guys understand you've just got to stay ready and do what's in your control. Then you see guys that weren't playing a lot like Harry Wessels comes through and plays incredible in the opportunity he's given because he stays ready, that was big time

"Dash doing what he does, like the defence, the energy, him getting downhill, shooting the ball with confidence.

"Everyone was ready for their moment and that makes them better and makes them hold on to that experience even more.

"It's been really good to just follow those guys like Ben Henshall, he's an absolute bucket and he's only like 15-years-old (White joked).

"All these guys are so young and so talented and have so much good basketball in front of them.

"I wish I was playing in Asia Cups when I was 19 or 20, these guys have really bright futures ahead of them.

"We just touched on but the I guess the insane talent that's coming through the ranks is is really exciting but don't remind me that I'm on the older side, I'm still trying to hang on, you know?"

Three-point shooting to take him to next level

White knows the key to take him to the next level, whether that's the NBA or reaching his Olympic dream, is being a knockdown shooter.

It's something he works on every day and something he has become elite at.

"I have no issues saying that I'm an elite shooter and I think I show that every day, especially in practice," White said.

"I think the biggest thing for me, we sort of touched on the mental side of it, I think basketball in general is a confidence game and it's a game of mistakes and it's how much someone doesn't care if they make a mistake or miss a shot, like how well can you move on to the next play?

"I was speaking to Delly (Matthew Dellavedova) a lot about this, like I think Delly might be the best in the world at moving on to the next play and not wasting any time on a mistake. His next play mentality is is elite and that's something that I was trying to learn from him in our time together.

"I think the biggest thing for me, like naturally I'm a perfectionist, I'm an over-thinker which can be can be bad for some things and can be good for some things.

"It's part of the reason why I've been able to get myself to where I'm at now but in saying that I think it's one of the big things that holds me back.

"I'll catch the ball and have a shot and think whether it's the best shot for a team or what if I missed this shot? That's something that I've been trying to improve throughout the course of my career and just letting it rip, just trust in my preparation and trust in my instincts.

"The biggest thing for me is just showing (my shooting) in games. You could speak to everyone I've played with throughout my career and they would think I'm a really good shooter. It's just a matter of application and letting it rip during the games and not caring if I miss.

"Also my defence, my rebounding and my athleticism is at a really high level, so that can sort of over shadow my shooting ability, but in the same breath like I'm well aware that I haven't shown my three-point shooting to the ability that I know I can. If anything, I'm just excited for the opportunity to show that.

"I get the best out of myself when I'm challenged and I think that's a good challenge to face and it's a good mental challenge for me."

Zion, the Australian Ambassador

White got to mix with some pretty special people in his college career at Duke.

From being under the tutelage of the iconic Coach K and also playing with a generational talent in Zion Williamson.

After spending time and building a relationship with the No.1 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, White couldn't help but smile when he saw Williamson lead the New Orleans Pelicans on a tour of Australia, playing against United and the South East Melbourne Phoenix.

More importantly, he saw how Williamson embraced the Australian fans and vice versa and saw an opportunity for the highflying superstar to somehow become involved as an ambassador for Aussie basketball.

"Zion's obviously an incredible basketball player but he's an incredible person, has a great family," White added.

"We keep in touch here and he's one of those guys, where I get pissed off when I see negative stuff about him out there in the media, I know that's just part of it but I know him and how he is and he's incredible.

"I'm so happy that he had a positive experience in Australia and I think he'd be a great ambassador for the NBL if that was a possibility.

"I'm sure that won't be the only time he's in Australia. He's the type of guy that would have a good experience and want to go back and experience more.

"(It) goes to show this sort of environment that the NBL and Australia was able to create for, obviously an NBA team and that experience, even in the midst of wonderful Melbourne weather, but now I'll have to get on to him to make (Zion coming back) happen.

"Hopefully I got some some pull with him still and can get in his ear a bit."

No surprise at Proctor's early NBA form

Although they didn't go to school together, White has a sense of pride watching fellow Duke Blue Devil and Australian Tyrese Proctor impress early in his rookie NBA season with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Proctor's cracked the rotation, although Darius Garland is out with injury, and scored 17 points, hitting five shots from downtown last time out. His form hasn't come as a shock to White.

"I'm not surprised at all, he's elite," White said.

"We were actually teammates in the World Cup qualifiers back in 2022, he would have been 12-years-old or whatever he would have been then but no it's been awesome to watch him sort of grow from afar. Obviously doing it at Duke as well is no small feat and now I couldn't be happier for him.

"Again, comes from a great family, it's good how he represents where he's from and it's been amazing just to see him play well.

"He's a pro, like he handles himself really well, he plays the right way, I love his assertiveness and how he's able to impact the game in different ways, whether that's scoring, he passes the ball really well, he's got great size.

"I think he's going to be a great asset for the Cavs, hopefully for a really long time. He deserves it all, he's big time."