Former First-Round NBA Draft Pick, Royce White, Running For Congress

Rather than attack the basket, Royce White, a former NBA first-round pick, is now chasing a seat in Congress. White, 30, announced his intentions to seek the U.S. representative seat for Minnesota’s fifth congressional district. He’ll be running as a Republican with aspirations to reclaim a district that has been “voting blue for a long time.”

White, who was selected 16th overall by the Houston Rockets in 2012, never appeared in an NBA game because of mental health issues, largely caused by anxiety associated with air travel. He’s since become an advocate for mental health and a vocal supporter of conservative issues.

“This district has been voting blue for a long time, and I hope that I can shake that up,” White said Tuesday, via the Star Tribune. “I hope that I can make people see that for a long time, they voted against their own interests.”

White has long been shamed for his anxiety and largely conservative views, especially his stance on the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, which he calls “tyranny.”