‘I can’t wait to get home to Traralgon’: White reflects on NBA title, Jokic and his comeback from injury
By Roy Ward
NBA Finals MVP Nikola Jokic and Australian two-way player Jack White are on either end of the Denver Nuggets’ championship-winning roster, but they have one thing in common.
They both can’t wait to return home to their families to enjoy the spoils of their breakthrough title win.
Denver Nuggets forward Jack White holds the Larry O’Brien Trophy.Credit: Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE
While Jokic, the team’s superstar leader, has made it clear he will be flying home to Sombor, Serbia, as soon as he can after Friday’s (AEST) championship parade in Denver, White has a few things to do in the United States before he heads back to Traralgon in Victoria’s Gippsland region in July.
The Nuggets claimed their club’s first NBA title in its 47-year history on Tuesday AEST with a 4-1 series win over the Miami Heat.
White is the seventh Australian to win an NBA title, joining Luc Longley, Andrew Gaze, Patty Mills, Aron Baynes, Andrew Bogut and Matthew Dellavedova – he is also just the third player after Gaze and former Sydney Kings import Ian Clark to win both an NBL title and NBA title as White was a key player for Melbourne United in their 2020-2021 championship.
“My family has been with me throughout the whole journey, and they’ve known that making the NBA and winning an NBA championship have been goals of mine ever since I started taking basketball seriously,” White told this masthead from Denver on Wednesday.
“They’ve sacrificed a lot for me. I moved out of home [to go to the AIS] at 16 and there have been a lot of road trips and then coming to the other side of the world to visit me.
“It’s a demanding lifestyle. This makes it feel like it is all worth something. I can’t wait to get home to Traralgon and spend time with them because this lifestyle doesn’t give you much spare time to be home.”
Jokic expressed similar sentiments and has reportedly asked the team’s owners, the Kroenke family, to lend him their private jet for the flight.
“He would be exhausted, he’s played over 100 games this season, so I’m sure he’s just looking forward to getting back to Serbia and spending time with his family and his horses,” White said.
“I know that he’s just happy for everyone else. I think the true joy that he gets from us winning the championship is what he’s been able to do for everyone else on the team with his greatness.”
White wasn’t able to play in the NBA Finals as he was on a two-way contract and was not elevated to the main roster in time for the play-offs, but he continued training with the side and was on the bench with his teammates throughout their play-off run.
The 25-year-old admits he is still processing the emotions of the championship win in his first season in the NBA as it was a career highlight that has come a little over two years after he ruptured his Achilles tendon while with Melbourne United.
White worked tirelessly with United’s medical team to rehabilitate from the injury and come back stronger, playing late in the 2021-2022 season, playing for the Australian Boomers last winter and then earning his move to Denver this season.
“It’s absolutely absurd when you think about it – it feels like it was yesterday and I wouldn’t have been able to do this without all the support from everyone at Melbourne United to get back to full health,” White said.
“They got me back from a full Achilles tear in eight-and-a-half months, now I’m feeling great, the body is really good. I have to give a shout out to Nick [Harrison], Steve [McAdam] and Chloe [Manuel] and everyone who helped me through that process, it was during COVID as well, so it was a pretty isolating time.
“To have gone through that, it still feels so recent, makes this even sweeter. To win an NBL title and now and NBA title – you can’t make this up, it’s unreal.”
White also took tremendous joy in seeing some of his veteran teammates win titles, with Ish Smith (an NBA record 13 teams in 13 seasons), Jeff Green (11 teams in 16 seasons) and DeAndre Jordan (seven teams in 15 seasons) win their first titles.
“They are a huge part of our locker room and what makes the culture here so good,” White said.
“They could hardly contain themselves at the end of the game. We’re having timeouts, and they’re sitting on the bench just overcome with emotion.
“That’s the one thing they’ve been after, and I can only imagine the relief, the happiness with all those guys have gone through to finally get that reward. I couldn’t be happier for them.″
White has been trying to pace himself as the team has several days of celebrations leading up to Friday’s parade before exit interviews and then the off-season.
He is also on the extended roster for the Australian Boomers for the FIBA World Cup in late August, with their selection camp set for the start of August.
“My phone has been blowing up non-stop – I’m trying to get back to everyone but it’s a logistical nightmare,” White said with a laugh.
“I’m grateful to not only the people here during this time but those who were there for me in the darkest of times, during injuries or not playing. My family, close friends and my agent Sammy [Wloszczowski] have been with me every step of the way. I haven’t been home in over 12 months, so I’m looking forward to that and reflecting on everything.”
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