Okaro White

Early life

White was born in Brooklyn, New York, on August 13, 1992, and has an older brother and sister. His mother, Charmaine White, ran track for the Jamaican national team. As a preteen, his family moved to Clearwater, Florida, to be close to his grandmother.

In eighth grade, he experienced a growth spurt, growing five-and-a-half inches in the summer. White played basketball and football, and ran track while growing up, but his best sport was football, where he played at the quarterback and free safety positions.

White was named Pinellas County's Basketball Player of the Year as a senior at Clearwater High School.

College career

White chose to play college basketball at Florida State after receiving scholarship offers from Florida, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Clemson, and Miami (Fl.). At Florida State, he started on two NCAA Tournament teams. He averaged 13.6 points and 6.8 rebounds per game in his senior season with Florida State, both career highs. In addition, White connected on 37.5 percent of his 3-point shots. He defended both guards and forwards and alternated between the small and power forward positions. White was one of 64 seniors selected to play in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament.

Italy (2014–2015)

After going undrafted in the 2014 NBA draft, White joined the Memphis Grizzlies for the 2014 NBA Summer League. In five games, he averaged 8.2 points and 2.6 rebounds per game. On July 31, 2014, he signed with Virtus Bologna of Italy for the 2014–15 season. In 33 games for the club, he averaged 12.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.0 blocks per game in the top-tier Italian League.

Greece (2015–2016)

In July 2015, White joined the Memphis Grizzlies for the Orlando Summer League and the Dallas Mavericks for the Las Vegas Summer League. On August 7, 2015, he signed a one-year deal with Aris Thessaloniki of the Greek Basket League and the EuroCup. In 26 Greek League regular season games, he averaged 13.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.7 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game. He led the Greek League's regular season phase with a total accumulated Performance Index Rating (PIR) of 474, thus being the league's regular season PIR leader.

In 10 Greek League playoff games, he averaged 14.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game. Over 36 games in 2015–16, he averaged 13.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game. He was named to the 2015–16 Greek League Best Five, and he was named the 2015–16 Greek League Most Spectacular Player. In the 2015–16 EuroCup season, he averaged 11.0 points and 6.4 rebounds in 16 games.

Miami Heat and Sioux Falls Skyforce (2016–present)

In June 2016, White joined the Miami Heat for the 2016 NBA Summer League. He went on to sign with the Heat on July 15, 2016, but he was waived on October 22, after appearing in six preseason games. On November 1, 2016, he was acquired by the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA Development League as an affiliate player of the Heat. On January 17, 2017, he returned to the Heat, signing a 10-day contract with the team to help them deal with numerous injuries. Miami had to use an NBA hardship exemption in order to sign him as he made their roster stand at 16, being one player over the allowed limited of 15. He made his NBA debut two days later, recording one rebound in nine minutes off the bench in a 99–95 win over the Dallas Mavericks. He signed a second 10-day contract with the Heat on January 27, and a rest-of-season deal on February 6. On February 16, 2017, he was assigned to the Sioux Falls Skyforce so he could participate in the NBA Development League All-Star game.