Former NBA bust wins Republican Senate primary

White received 38.5 percent of the vote in Tuesday's Republican primary election, defeating his closest candidate, Joe Fraser, who pulled just over 29 percent. The former Minnesota high school basketball star is a devoted follower of Donald Trump and is rebounding from a failed congressional primary campaign in 2022.

While the Huffington Post called White a "former NBA star," he only played three games and nine total minutes in the league, committing two fouls and missing his lone shot attempt. The Houston Rockets drafted White with the No. 16 pick in 2012, but his struggles with an anxiety disorder and fear of flying led to his never taking the court for the team. White and the Rockets reached an agreement where he could use a team-provided bus for travel, but he frequently left the team and only played for their G League affiliate for a month.

White's career culminated in a few games with the Sacramento Kings in the 2013-14 season, though he went on to play nearly two seasons in the since-dissolved National Basketball League of Canada, where his career ended after he was suspended for screaming at game officials and the league's deputy commissioner.

The former Iowa State forward has had a checkered history. Originally enrolled at Minnesota, he was suspended from what would have been his freshman season after shoplifting and assaulting a security guard at the Mall of America, then left the school after being charged with trespassing in relation to a laptop theft. After two years off, he made the first-team All-Big 12 team in his lone season with the Cyclones.

Later, White joined the Big3 for their 2019 season, where he was ejected from his first game for fighting with Josh Smith. He then announced he'd be transitioning to a career in mixed martial arts, but he lost his lone professional match.

Incumbent senator Klobuchar should be a big favorite, thanks in part to some of White's controversial statements. 

"He has repeated conspiracy theories about the coronavirus pandemic and about 'Jewish elites,' and also made public statements that have raised the ire of people in his party and out, such as saying that 'women have become too mouthy,'" according to the BBC.

His congressional campaign was subject to a complaint to the Federal Elections Commission that he'd used over $150,000 in campaign funds to pay for clothing, gym fees and vacations, among other expenses.

Still, White is now a legitimate candidate for the United States Senate, a position that shouldn't require him to fly in planes or deal with officials. He's a big underdog to beat the popular Klobuchar, but he was an even bigger underdog to ever end up in a Senate race in the first place. Just like in his NBA career statistics, White has a shot.