White, the storied vet, just wants to win

Billy White achieved pretty much every individual accomplishment in the NBLC. A surprise addition to the London Lightning this season, he’s got one thing in mind: winning a championship in Year 1 of the BSL.

(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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I ain’t no superhero
I ain’t no Marvel Comic
But when it comes to game I’m atomic.
… OG.

Ice-T

—

There is no offseason for Billy White. When one league ends, he finds another. Greece. Mexico. Israel. Uruguay. After the Windsor Express season came to an end following the NBL Canada Finals last spring, he headed to the Dominican Republic to play for three months.

Billy White is an apex predator when it comes to hunting down a game somewhere in the world.

Now, you can add the Basketball Super League.

Admit it, you didn’t know what to think when one of the NBL Canada’s OGs signed with one-time rival London Lightning this season. Maybe you thought the 13-year pro was seeking one last hurrah, one last grasp at a ring in an unfamiliar uniform. Have shot – will travel.

You couldn’t have been more wrong.

On Jan. 26, the 6-foot-8 Las Vegas native turns 35 years old, and watching his early season play, it’s easy to believe he’s in better shape than most 20-somethings in the league. He’s a key piece in the Lightning’s attempt to bring back-to-back-to-back titles – and a first BSL title – to the Forest City.

And it’s all because Billy White has a secret formula to keeping his game in top form: “Just keep playing.”

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There have been other teams, other leagues.

He was a standout star at Green Valley High School and San Diego State. There was the Iowa Energy of the NBA D League. The San Diego Guardians of The Basketball League (TBL). Even a brief flirtation of the Miami Heat and the NBA. There have also been several international ports along the way.

But Billy White and the NBL Canada will always be inextricably linked.

Playing with the Halifax Hurricanes (2015-18), Moncton Magic (2018-20), and Windsor Express (2021-2023), White was an NBLC MVP (2020) and a two-time NBL Canada champion (2016, 2019). The versatile power forward closed out the league sitting amongst its all-time ranks in games played, points, rebounds, field goals, free throws, and assists.

In celebration of the league’s 10th anniversary season, White was named No. 5 among the NBL Canada’s Top 10 Greatest Players of All Time.

“That was a great honour,” he said. “I never thought in a million years that I would be in the top five in Canada of all time. That’s a great accomplishment. So, I was really thankful, really caught off guard by that. It shows that all the work and all the dedication that I put into my craft, it paid off.”

Last season with the Express, White averaged 17.8 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 4.6 assists in the regular and postseason. At 34, he was second in the league in minutes played – and led the league in disqualifications (11).

But don’t let age fool you. He arrives in London hungry as ever.

“Don’t worry. I may be a bit older, but I’m still the same Billy White you’re used to seeing playing. I’m going to bring passion, effort, my athletic ability, and energy to the team every day. I am going to try and fit in, but also just be me. I’m still a passionate person about basketball. I can fit into any offense. But I’m not looking to score 30 points a game. I just want to win, so I will do whatever it takes to win.”

(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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Few coaches know Young Billy White better than Mike Leslie.

In 2015, Leslie had just taken over the Halifax Hurricanes head coaching duties from Hugo Lopez. There, Leslie coached White as an emerging player – a young, talented man still finding his game.

The year prior, during the team’s championship run, White was coming off the bench, playing backup minutes, working his way into the rotation. Leslie’s plan was to play him – constantly – until he fouled out or ran out of gas.

And why not? Here was a player with the size of a big, the hands of a point, the accuracy of a shooting guard, the aggressiveness of a new-school ball handler, and the attitude of an old-school enforcer.

“His talent level was so high,” said the current Acadia Axemen men’s basketball coach. “There were some aspects of his game he was still working, his outside shot, for instance. He was a little uncomfortable taking as many as he would later in his career because he always felt he could score underneath the basket. He didn’t necessarily want to take a perimeter shot if he felt he could get close to the rim and score.”

Playing primarily as a power forward for the ‘Canes, White was one of the strongest players underneath the basket across the league. That was no accident, Leslie stressed, as he watched White practice and perfect his down-low execution every day.

“If he decided to sit down on the block and take you to the basket, there wasn’t a lot you could do to stop him. Then there’s the fact he is a lefty; that made him a little bit funkier to play against. I could play him on both sides of the floor, and he could get to the front of the rim with either hand,” he explained.

“There would be times in a close game in the last five minutes and I would say to him, ‘OK, it’s your time, Billy. Where do you want the basketball?’ We’d run a little action, get Billy down on the block, throw it to him, and let him go. We would finish a game with a steady diet of all Billy White.”

The key to White’s growth as a player, Leslie stressed, was just as much internal as anything he could do on the floor. His evolution as an outside shooter is an excellent example.

“It’s not that Billy was a poor shooter. It was his confidence in his shooting early on that needed to change,” Leslie said. “There’d be days in year one where we do a five-spot perimeter shooting drill, all three-point shots, and you had to make five at each spot around once and then come back. Sometimes he’d only miss one or two. I would shake my head and say, ‘Billy, you need to take these in games.’ He would just smile and give an ‘awe-shucks’ look.

“Once he got his confidence, it opened the door for so many more things that he could do. His athleticism was so strong at putting the ball on the deck and attacking the rim.

Speaking of never missing a shot, after White was traded to Moncton in 2018 (for former Lightning star Terry Thomas), he rarely missed an opportunity to remind his former coach what he was missing.

“He did it to us in every possible way that Billy could do,” Leslie laughed.

“There were some days he was by far the best talent around the league. He could do things that, when he really decided to turn it on and play, there was nobody who could guard him. Nobody could touch the level of skill he had to do the things that he did.”

Leslie takes a lot of joy in seeing the player White has evolved into.

“The more he matured as a player, the more he was able to not let things like a double team throw him off. Teams constantly resorted to that (double teams), and other tricks, because they had to do something or else he was just going to score. Now, he understands why that happens and what he needs to do to play out of it. He’s come to peace with some of those things.”

Leslie continued, “Billy’s got a lot of pride. He really respects the journey that he’s been on and doesn’t want to go out there and play subpar or look subpar. He wants to be who he has been when he’s been the best player that he could be.”

(Photo: Barry Field Photography).

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Even years later, Joe Salerno stays in touch more with Billy White than any other player he’s coached.

“I was tired of losing to Halifax and Billy White for a lot of years, so we made a trade to get Billy,” said the former Moncton Magic head coach who won a title with White in 2019. “He really did turn out to be the final piece I needed in terms of coaching to win a championship.”

Salerno has story after story about White’s exploits on the court, with memories of specific plays as vivid as if he just watched them during a morning game film session. He speaks of versatility, size, basketball IQ, and an incredibly diverse toolbox of talents.

“Billy, to me, is an all-time great. He’s a nightmare matchup and a true competitor – and that’s what was so difficult about coaching against him and what I loved about having him. His desire to win is as high as any player I’ve ever coached,” said Salerno, the current University of New Brunswick men’s basketball head coach.

“He truly has the ability to be a playmaker. He has the ability to score from the perimeter, score inside, but then also distribute and be a playmaker for others. That really is rare to find. It’s certainly rare to find outside of the NBA. He was such an extreme talent, and when you pair that with his will to win, you’re going to have a tough customer on the court.”

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Billy White wasn’t kidding about that whole “just keep playing” thing.

In the summertime, there are a lot of open gyms where he can pop in and play with the local guys who maybe didn’t have the chance to play professionally but still have the talent to push him. He tries to stay in the gym most of the time and get shots up when he can.

His coaches frequently mention the way he treats his body – a tool for his talent. It’s no wonder he has athletically aged so well. White puts in two to three hours a day in the gym and then gets out. Don’t overwork the body, he stressed, just try to get the stuff you want to accomplish done.

“Every year, I just try to get better on my weaknesses, on the things I know that I wasn’t good at that year. I try to stay in the gym and be prepared. I set goals every year. One of my goals during my career was to be MVP; one was to try to lead the league in scoring; one was to be first team defense and first team offense. Little things like that motivate me and push me every year.”

(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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Yes, Billy White donning the Yellow and Black is a surprise.

Knowing him as a bitter rival right until the final horn last season, you might have gotten better odds on the Bolts returning talented and tumultuous guard Chris Jones to the fold. Instead, both playmakers passed each other on the 401 prior to this season – White to London, Jones to Windsor.

Lightning head coach Doug Plumb learned a lot about White from the opposing bench over the years.

“The thing with Billy has always been his emotional resiliency and volatility. It’s his biggest strength and his biggest weakness. He plays the chip on his shoulder. He’s obviously extremely talented. When he projects that onto the opponent, he’s an absolute nightmare. But when he projects that internally or onto his own teammates, it’s a problem.”

Plumb continued, “Now, I feel like Billy is at a stage in his life where he’s been around the world, and he’s been on championship teams or teams that got there. He’s at a point in his career where you start to see that the days are probably dwindling, and you want to be a part of something that’s bigger than yourself.”

Only a handful of games into his Lightning tenure, White’s influence can already be felt, both on the scoresheet and off. The team feels different when he is out there.

“He still has piss and vinegar in him,” Plumb laughed, “but he understands the bigger picture now and has a little bit of perspective. I’m expecting him to keep guys accountable. I told Billy when he came here: I don’t expect you to be something you’re not. I don’t expect you to be a saint all the time. I know that you play with fire in your belly, and I like that. I’m the same. If there’s one person who can really understand that it’s me. But I can’t have to be worried about Billy White’s energy on a day-to-day basis. I need to be worried about the team. So that was the agreement.”

Thus far this season, White has thrived in London, averaging 12.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game in seven contests, including a vintage double-double (26 points, 10 rebounds – and seven assists) in a big road win Jan. 12 against the Sudbury Five. Throw in a couple of pained expressions shot in the direction of referees and a technical foul or two, and that’s the Billy White Experience the Lightning need.

“He’s still Billy White,” Plumb said. “If he does the right things, and if he doesn’t take himself out of the games, he’s still the best big in the league and it’s not even close when he decides to play. He is a problem for matchups.”

(Photo: Barry Field Photography).

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Needless to say, this ain’t no farewell tour – so don’t get all emotional on Billy White.

“I don’t think I’m going to go for LeBron. I feel like I have got two or three more good years in me and then I’ll be done,” he said. “Thanks to the blessing of God, I haven’t had major injuries, no surgery, or nothing that would stop me from playing. I’ve been playing for a long time, and I feel like when it’s time to really to hang it up, I’ll be ready.”

But today, he is far from ready. In fact, still playing at a high level, Billy White is excited to see what he can accomplish with a new era emerging for him. New team. New league. New challenges.

“I feel like I have accomplished all the goals, all that individual stuff, in my career, and now I’m just trying to win. I feel like all that individual stuff falls in place just by winning. I want to win another championship. That’s all I’m focused on. At the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about.”