Jahidi White of the Washington Wizards - or, as he should have been, Jahadi White
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19 Dec 2001: Forward Jahidi White #55 of the Washington Wizards attempts to find a better position during the NBA game against the Atlanta Hawks at the MCI Center in Washington, DC. The Wizards defeated the Hawks 103-76. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory copyright notice: Copyright 2001 NBAE Mandatory Credit: Doug Pensinger/NBAE/Getty Images
After being drafted in the second round of the 1998 NBA Draft, Georgetown alum Jahidi White played in the NBA for seven seasons. The five most prominent of those came with the team that drafted him, the Washington Wizards, alongside short stints with the Phoenix Suns and the then-Charlotte Bobcats.
It turns out, however, that across those seven seasons – as well as his time at Georgetown and the twenty years since he left the NBA – we have all been spelling White’s name wrong. In fact, for a long time, so was he.
White Did Not Know Himself
In retirement, amongst business interests in the healthcare sector, White works as a co-host alongside Bullets Forever writer Matt Modderno on a podcast called Bleav in Wizards. Focused on the Wizards, even the podcast’s own About page lists White’s name as Jahidi, which is understandable considering the three decades of supporting evidence. Indeed, everywhere except White’s own social media accounts tells the same story.
White’s own online footprint, though, sees him spelling his name as Jahadi. It turns out there is a reason for that. Reached by email, White confirmed that “Jahadi” was in fact the correct spelling, something he did not know himself until he had a child.
“Didn’t realize I was spelling it wrong until I had a Jr”, said White. “I wanted to make sure make sure he was an official Jahadi Jr. So I decided to look at my birth certificate. That’s when I realized it was spelled differently than I was taught how to write it.”
“I was spelling it incorrectly this entire time.”
Junior Following In Senior’s Footsteps
The child White is referring to is now beginning a basketball career of his own. Jahadi White Jr – with the A, this time – is currently a member of the playing roster at Chaminade College Prep, along with his twin brother, Jamison. Considered a four-star prospect by Rivals, the 6’8 power forward is said to have received offers from Iowa, Murray State and Saint Louis amongst others, and is on track for a Division I college basketball career – that is, unless he accepts D1 offers to play college football instead.
Stories about Jahadi Jr invariably mention his pedigree as the son of Jahidi, given Jahidi’s status as an NBA veteran. For a son to be an official junior, however, their name – including their middle name – must mirror that of their father identically. This fact led to the relatively recent revelation that for four decades, everyone in and around the NBA was spelling Hall-of-Famer Scottie Pippen’s name wrong, a fact discovered upon the summer league debut of his son, Scotty Pippen Jr (currently with the Memphis Grizzlies).
Spelling Jahidi White’s name with the correct spelling of Jahadi is going to be a tough habit to break. Everything from White’s Wikipedia page, to the end credits of his 2007 acting debut (in which he appeared as a monster in the Sci Fi Channel original movie Showdown at Area 51, which is available in its entirety on YouTube and involves White doing a lot of walking) all list his name the same way – “Jahidi”.
Don’t feel bad for not knowing that, though. For three decades, neither did he.