McDowell-White: 'I want to finish my career with Bullets'

• McDowell-White signed in Europe despite interest from four NBL teams
• The guard revealed he wants to finish his professional basketball career in Brisbane
• McDowell-White's season-high for Alba Berlin came against Bayern Munich on February 2 with 23 points and 5-7 from three

Brisbane-born William McDowell-White has revealed he would "definitely like" to finish his career with the Bullets, the club where he grew up watching his idols as a boy in Queensland in the early 2000s.

“I've already kind of thought about it. There's a high chance I'd like to end my career (in Brisbane) and just get set up with life after basketball as well,” White said in an exclusive interview with basketball.com.au.

“You know, I'd definitely like to end my career in Brisbane and just play where I grew up watching Derek Rucker and Sam Mackinnon and all these guys going to the bloody (Brisbane) Convention Centre every second week to watch the Bullets.

“That's probably where I'll end up living the rest of my life.

“So yeah, I'm sure I know there's people that would want me there right now in the prime of my career but, I think right now, (Germany) is probably the best place to be."

McDowell-White, 26, was the hottest NBL free agent on the market this past offseason and broke the hearts of fans around the league, especially those in his hometown of Brisbane, after deciding to take his talents to Europe and sign with Alba Berlin.

After four seasons with the New Zealand Breakers, including going within minutes of an NBL championship in 2023, there were four NBL clubs  gunning for his services. Those teams were the South East Melbourne Phoenix, Adelaide 36ers, Tasmania JackJumpers and his hometown team the Bullets.

While the team he was going to sign with would have surprised a lot of fans, the point guard spoke candidly about the process, which left some people — including coaches and officials from NBL clubs — shocked, angered and even feeling like they were being played before his decision to sign in Europe.

“It was so hard because the European season is so long that the market doesn't open up for a long time, or pretty late in the process,” he said.

“I was probably ready to make a decision and knew where I was going to go and then I think it was like a Thursday or something and my agent was like, ‘can you answer the phone?’ So I answered the phone and randomly then, yeah, the GM of Alba was also on the call and I had no idea.

“He was just telling me about Alba and how it works, like to me, the conversation didn't really seem like we want to sign you. It was kind of just an introduction, maybe just for the future, maybe the year after or something like that.

“Then, yeah, the next day my agent called and was like, ‘what do you think about going to Alba?’ And I was like, I mean, if I don’t go to Europe now, I'll probably be too old for the next chance I get to go.

“Then it all happened in not even 48 hours really.”

Returning to Germany, where he joined Brose Bamberg as a fresh-faced 19-year-old in 2017, was a move he’d go onto love.

Averaging 6.5 points along with 2.8 assists and 1.9 rebounds in the EuroLeague while shooting the three at 45%, McDowell-White has come through in some big moments for Alba Berlin, including 13 points in just 15 minutes against defending champions Panathinaikos. He’s also made some highlight plays, including a block on NBA guard Lonnie Walker Jr when he was with Lithuanian club Zalgiris.

While in the German Bundesliga (G-BBL), McDowell-White has also had some memorable moments, none bigger than scoring 13 points, including two clutch fourth-quarter threes to beat local rivals Bayern Munich in early January.

This is all despite overcoming some serious self-doubt on whether he was good enough to fit in under the bright lights of the EuroLeague.

“Oh my God, absolutely (I had doubts),” McDowell-White said.

“Personally I just wanted to come over to see where I was at. Like it wasn't even about performing. I was just like, all right, let's see where I'm at this first year and then maybe the second year, if I am still with Alba, I can take it up a notch and cement myself in Alba.

“I came in with no expectation. The only thing I didn't want to do coming over was be really bad on defence and just get exposed every possession, which has been a pleasant surprise that that hasn't been the case.”

McDowell-White, who has also overcome a history of injuries in recent years and missed 15 games for ALBA Berlin with a foot issue, said his initial plans were to come in and play a role to make sure his teammates were getting touches and maybe “shoot an open three when it's there”. But it was the encouragement of his teammates, including former Breakers and Phoenix big man Yanni Wetzell, which led to him playing more aggressive and shooting with more confidence, especially from beyond the arc.

“That’s when I kind of thought, all right, let's just stop worrying about it, you know, making sure everybody else is happy because we're obviously losing,” he said.

“So, when I came back (from injury), I just thought, let's just go for it. Let's see, you know, if I'm good, I'm good, if I'm bad, I'm bad… It’s been a pleasant surprise how well it's gone.”

It’s that confidence McDowell-White has drawn on to go up against the likes of former NBA players and EuroLeague heavyweights in Shane Larkin, Carson Edwards, Kendrick Nunn and Shabazz Napier, who he remembers idolising during his college days at the University of Connecticut.

“It's just like, you know, I walk on the court and it's like, I used to watch Shabazz (Napier), you went crazy in like 2014 at UConn. Like you're a legend, you’re a basketball legend,” he said.

“Firstly, to be able to compete against them is cool and then like to hold your own and in some cases even play better than them in those games is like, yeah, it gives you that feeling like, you do belong at this level and in this league.”

He also credited having his partner, Aliyah who is a track and field athlete, for making the move to Europe a smooth one.

While many fans and NBL clubs will be hoping he returns to Australia next season despite having a year left on his contract in Berlin, his performances have reportedly attracted interest from other EuroLeague clubs as well. McDowell-White said he was happy to stay in Europe at the moment but he is keeping an eye on what’s happening back home.

“Maybe I’ll see who the next Bullets coach is,” he laughed.

When asked who his pick was to take home the NBL championship, McDowell-White joked he didn’t want to say the Illawarra Hawks because his younger brother, Kobe, is a development player with the team.

“He would then have a (championship) ring before me,” he laughed.

“But it is hard to go past them right now, just the way they've been playing. Like, just purely the way they score the ball, it just looks effortless. All I hope is that we have a good series in the semis and then a good five-game series in the finals because the league deserves it because every year it gets better.”

McDowell-White also took time to praise five-time NBL MVP Bryce Cotton, someone he has plenty of experience guarding, saying what he did this year “may never be done again”.

He also gave an insight into what makes Cotton, who had his highest scoring average in the NBL this season, so hard to guard.

“This guy is ridiculous… He's got everything and he jumps so far forward on his jump shot that you can't fully contest it because it's like, you're going to foul him,” McDowell-White said.

“But he's got everything. He can go left, he can go right, he's got the floater, he can finish in the lane. Like, he's got the mid-range, he's literally got everything, it's like you take away one thing and he's just going to go to something else he's been doing his whole life.

“There's just no way you can stop it.”

McDowell-White, who won a FIBA Asia Cup gold medal with the Boomers in 2022 and has been included in national team selection camps before, said future Australian selections were not on his mind, instead his focus was just making his mark in Europe.