Okaro White (born August 13, 1992) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player for Lokomotiv Kuban of the

VTB United League VTB United League (russian: Единая Лига ВТБ) is an international professional men's club basketball league that was founded in 2008. It is made up of mostly Russian clubs, along with one each from Belarus and Kazakhstan. Since 2013, it ...

. He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for Florida State.

Early life

White was born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, on August 13, 1992, and has an older brother and sister. His mother, Charmaine White, ran track for the Jamaica 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 was named

Pinellas County Pinellas County (, ) is a county located on the west central coast of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 959,107. The county is part of the Tampa–St. Petersburg– Clearwater, Florida Metropolitan Statistical ...

'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 Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, 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 The Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, (PIT), is the oldest amateur basketball tournament in the United States and the only postseason camp restricted to college basketball seniors. The Portsmouth Invitational is the first of two NBA pre-Draft ( ...

Professional career

Virtus Bologna (2014–2015)

After going undrafted in the

2014 NBA draft The 2014 NBA draft was held on June 26, 2014, at the Barclays Center, Brooklyn National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. ...

, White joined the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...

for the

2014 NBA Summer League The 2014 NBA Summer League consists of two pro basketball leagues organized by the NBA and the Orlando Magic just after the 2014 NBA Draft. Ten teams took part in the week-long summer league at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida, from July 5 t ...

. In five games, he averaged 8.2 points and 2.6 rebounds per game. On July 31, 2014, he signed with

Virtus Bologna Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna, known for sponsorship reasons as Virtus Segafredo Bologna, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna. The club was founded in 1929, which makes it the oldest club in Italy and one ...

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.

Aris Thessaloniki (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 The Greek Basket League (GBL), often also referred to as the Greek A1 Basketball League, or Greek Basketball Championship (originally called Panhellenic Basketball Championship), and also known as the Stoiximan Basket League for sponsorship reaso ...

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.ΟΥΑΪΤ Οκάρο , Basket League ΣΚΡΑΤΣ 2015-16
He led the Greek League's regular season phase with a total accumulated

Performance Index Rating (PIR) Performance Index Rating (PIR) is a basketball mathematical statistical formula that is used by the Euroleague Basketball Company's first and second tier competitions, the EuroLeague and the EuroCup, as well as various European national dom ...

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.

Sioux Falls Skyforce (2016–2017)

In June 2016, White joined the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The club plays its home games at FT ...

for the

2016 NBA Summer League The 2016 NBA Summer League consisted of three pro basketball leagues organized by the National Basketball Association (NBA): the Orlando Pro Summer League, Utah Jazz Summer League, and Las Vegas Summer League. Ten teams participated in the week- ...

. 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 The Sioux Falls Skyforce are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and are affiliated with the Miami Heat. The team plays their home games in the Sanford Pentagon, a place they have call ...

of the NBA Development League as an affiliate player of the Heat.

Miami Heat (2017–2018)

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

so he could participate in the NBA Development League All-Star game. On February 8, 2018, the Heat traded White to the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

in exchange for Luke Babbitt and was later waived.

Cleveland Cavaliers (2018)

On March 18, 2018, the Cleveland Cavaliers signed White to a 10-day contract. On April 7, 2018, the Cleveland Cavaliers signed White for the remainder of the season and was eligible to play in the playoffs. The Cavaliers made it to the

2018 NBA Finals The 2018 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2017–18 season and conclusion of the season's playoffs. In this best-of-seven playoff, the defending NBA champion and Western Conference champio ...

, but lost in four games to the Golden State Warriors. On August 5, 2018, White was waived by the Cleveland Cavaliers. On September 24, 2018, White was included in the training camp roster for the San Antonio Spurs but was later waived by the Spurs on October 13.

Washington Wizards (2018)

On November 23, 2018, the Washington Wizards announced that they had signed White, but White was later waived by the Wizards on December 20.

Long Island Nets (2019)

On January 4, 2019, the

Long Island Nets The Long Island Nets are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Uniondale, New York, and are affiliated with the Brooklyn Nets. The team plays its home games at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Nassau Count ...

announced that they had acquired White.

Unics Kazan (2020–2021)

On August 31, 2020, he signed with UNICS Kazan of the

. He reached the EuroCup finals with the Russian club, averaging 10.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.

Panathinaikos (2021–2022)

On July 14, 2021, White officially signed a two-year (1+1) deal with Panathinaikos of the

and the EuroLeague, returning to Greece under his

Kazan Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering an ...

coach Dimitris Priftis. In 32

games, he averaged 11.5 points and 5.3 rebounds, playing around 23 minutes per contest. Additionally, in 29 EuroLeague games, he averaged 8.4 points and 3.7 rebounds, playing around 23 minutes per contest.

Windy City Bulls (2022)

On October 23, 2022, White joined the

Windy City Bulls The Windy City Bulls are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, and are affiliated with the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls play their home games at Now Arena, from Chicago. It became the thir ...

training camp roster.

Career statistics

NBA

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Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

, 35 , , 0 , , 13.5 , , .379 , , .353 , , .909 , , 2.3 , , .6 , , .3 , , .3 , , 2.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 6 , , 4 , , 13.3 , , .438 , , .364 , , .667 , , 1.8 , , .3 , , .2 , , .2 , , 3.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Washington , 3 , , 0 , , 2.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , - , , .7 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 0.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 44 , , 4 , , 12.7 , , .381 , , .340 , , .880 , , 2.2 , , .5 , , .3 , , .3 , , 2.7

College

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2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

, style="text-align:left;", Florida State , 34 , , 13 , , 16.5 , , .444 , , .265 , , .828 , , 3.1 , , .5 , , .7 , , .4 , , 6.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2011–12 , style="text-align:left;", Florida State , 35 , , 12 , , 22.6 , , .476 , , .333 , , .752 , , 4.4 , , .5 , , .6 , , .4 , , 7.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, style="text-align:left;", Florida State , 34 , , 34 , , 28.9 , , .511 , , .313 , , .815 , , 5.9 , , .8 , , 1.0 , , 1.1 , , 12.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , style="text-align:left;", Florida State , 36 , , 35 , , 30.1 , , .514 , , .375 , , .798 , , 6.8 , , .9 , , .8 , , 1.1 , , 13.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 139 , , 94 , , 24.6 , , .494 , , .327 , , .799 , , 5.1 , , .7 , , .7 , , .8 , , 10.1