Most basketball fans know James White due to his dunks on YouTube that make you jump out of your seat in awe and amazement. After spending the past year in Turkey winning a Euroleague Championship, he’s added some new aspects to his game and is hoping to return to the NBA next fall. After a workout with the Toronto Raptors earlier this month, White sat down with Hoops Addict to chat about whether he can touch the top of the backboard when he dunks, his experiences playing in Turkey and a wide range of other topics.

Hoops Addict: Is this your first free agent camp of the summer?
James White: Yes, this is my first camp this summer and I’m looking forward to it. Being out here today I’m just trying to get in where I fit in in as far as trying to get up some shots and show what I can do.

HA: I noticed you were talking a lot to John Lucas and Rod Benson during the game. How long does it take to gel and form some cohesion with teammates?
JW: Not really, because we’re all basketball players. We all do the same thing, we’ve all been around for awhile. Everybody knows how to play basketball and that’s what we’re going to try to do. We just try to go out there quickly and learn where each other are and it’s not too hard.

HA: How do you feel today went?
JW: It went good. I think a lot of guys are going to try to come out here and try to show what they can do early because you don’t have too much time. So you just want to go out there and be smart and don’t try to do things that you can’t do. I think everyone played well today.

HA: What are your plans for the rest of the summer? Do you have any plans to play in the Vegas Summer League?
JW: I have some more workouts with some other NBA teams. I’m not sure if I’ll do Summer League, but if I do I have a couple of teams that I have options with. I’m just going to try and stay busy, stay in shape, and hopefully I’ll get my chance.

HA: You played in Turkey last season. What did you learn from that experience and how did it make you a better player?
JW: There are a lot of things you can’t do overseas that you can do here in North America so I had to adjust my game a little bit. I added some things to my game that I can bring back plus the things I knew from before that I couldn’t use overseas. I learned a lot about the game so I think it will help me.

HA: What was the most challenging aspect of playing in Turkey?
JW: Learning a new style, it was kind of like I went back to college again. The NBA is more open, it has more space, but in Turkey you have to play against guys who sit in the lane. For an athlete it’s harder to do the things that you like to do so that was probably the hardest part.

HA: What are some of your favourite memories of your time overseas?
JW: Winning and going to the Final Eight of the Euroleague and winning the Championship over there.

HA: I’ve heard a rumour that you can grab the top of the backboard. Is this true?
JW: (chuckling) I don’t know if I can anymore, I’m getting old. I probably can still but we’ll have to chalk it up to being just a rumour.

HA: As you get older and move away from being known as a dunker you need to change your game and evolve a bit. What are some of the ways you’re doing that?
JW: That’s the tough part because when you jump high then you’re always going to have the label as just being a dunker. Ever since high school I’ve been trying to do things to evolve my game and just become a better all around player. I like to do a lot of different things. I try to be a passer, shooter, everything to be an all around player so people will see the other parts of your game.

HA: Thank you for your time and good luck this summer.
JW: Thank you.

Click here to listen to the audio clip of this interview.

Photo Credit: Icon Sports Media