"There are adversities, but I believe everything happens for a reason," Whiteside said of his odyssey from his selection out of Marshall as the No. 33 pick of the 2010 NBA Draft by the Sacramento Kings. "I mean, I appreciate where I'm at even more than I did years ago, because I know how hard it was. I was in the Middle East, and it's really dangerous over there. Really, I'm just happy to be here."