Terrico White makes good on championship vow

Grand final MVP Terrico White promised Perth Wildcats coach Trevor Gleeson he would win him a championship when the pair met in Las Vegas last year.

Gleeson interviewed White after recommendations from club contacts during the NBA Summer League. White wasn’t playing in that league but had dominated the Korean Basketball League, where he was named grand final MVP.

An experienced international player, White had enormous confidence that he could help the Wildcats and he stepped up when it mattered most with hauls of 19, 17, 31 and 20 points in the four grand final matches.

“When we first had dinner in Vegas, he said ‘I’ll bring you one’,” Gleeson recalled.

“He backed it up. Terrico doesn’t say much. If he raises his eyebrows, you are in a full conversation with him.

“He backed it up on the big stage. He was brilliant.”

The Wildcats revealed White had a fractured knee earlier in the season. A wrist injury also required him to wear a cast on his left arm during the finals.

Captain Damian Martin described the sharpshooter as phenomenal.

“People don’t realise that at one stage he had a fracture in his knee and at another stage his wrist was way worse than people ever knew about,” Martin said.

“To battle through the regular season only missing a handful of games, and then to step up when it most counted, he’s back-to back grand final MVPs. We were questioned about having a third import but the reality was we had two superstars.”

White said being part of a club that played 32 consecutive finals series made him confident he would be challenging for a title.

“Play-offs is money time. That’s what I call it,” he said.

“We had to pick it up as a team. I just wanted to play with confidence. I expected to come away with a championship. Perth is a storied team. They’ve been to 33 consecutive finals.”