William McDowell-White has agreed to a new two-year deal to return to the New Zealand Breakers, sources told ESPN.
The second year of the deal is a player option, sources said, with McDowell-White now set to enter his fourth season with the Breakers franchise, and second under head coach Mody Maor.
McDowell-White attracted significant interest from across the NBL. As his free agency process progressed, that interest largely remained from the Breakers, Perth Wildcats, Tasmania JackJumpers, Brisbane Bullets, and Sydney Kings, sources said.
McDowell-White, a 6'5 point guard, averaged 10.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per game, over the course of the regular season and playoffs with the Breakers, shooting 42.4 percent from the field and 30 percent from downtown.
Opt outs have been negotiated that would give McDowell-White flexibility should he earn a spot on an NBA roster for training camp, sources said.
The 24-year-old was the starting point guard for a Breakers team that finished the 2022-23 regular season in second place, and fell to the Sydney Kings in five games in the Championship Series. He averaged 13.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game over the course of that series against the Kings.
McDowell-White's game has improved in each of his three seasons with the Breakers, culminating in the 6'5 point guard leading them to a deep playoff run and entering the 2023 NBL Free Agency as a marquee option for teams.
McDowell-White began his professional career in 2016 with the Kings, before spending two seasons with Brose Bamberg in Germany's Basketball Bundesliga. After spending the following two seasons with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers -- the Houston Rockets' NBA G-League affiliate -- he joined the Breakers.
McDowell-White will become the fifth contracted player for the Breakers at this point in NBL Free Agency, joining Izayah Le'Afa, Tom Vodanovich, Cameron Gliddon, and Dan Fotu. The Breakers are also currently in negotiations for Thomas Abercrombie to return, sources said.