THE SON of three-time Brisbane premiership player Darryl White will enter next month's NBA Draft after deciding to pursue a future in basketball over an AFL career.

William McDowell-White, 20, was part of the Lions' talent academy at age 13 after growing up playing Aussie Rules football for Coorparoo in the AFLQ competition.

However, the talented sporting youngster decided not to follow in his father's famous football footsteps, and gave up footy at the age of 15 so he could concentrate on basketball.

McDowell-White emerged on the NBA radar at the FIBA U19 World Championship in Greece in 2015, where he represented Australia as a 17-year old. He then received an invite to the Nike Hoop Summit game (a USA v World team representative game) the following year.

The 196cm point guard has averaged 12.5 points, 6.9 assists, 5.1 rebounds and 2.1 steals in 32 minutes per game for Baunach, a professional team based in the German basketball league.

McDowell-White signed with NBL team the Sydney Kings for the 2016-17 seasons, before deciding to go overseas and play in Europe. That decision to play professionally came after he was declared academically ineligible to play for Fresno State College in the US.

"As a competitor, I am excited to enter the NBA draft and compete at the highest level," McDowell-White told ESPN.

"I feel like I can contribute and help an NBA team win games. After a successful season in Europe, I have gained some great experience and developed as a player."

McDowell-White is projected as a potential second-round pick by NBA scouts, but has the option of withdrawing his name from the process by the June 11 deadline if he decides he is a better chance at getting drafted over the next two years (the length of his eligibility).

Darryl White played 268 games for the Brisbane Bears and Lions between 1992-2005. He was also named at full back in the Indigenous Team of the Century in 2005 and is considered one of the AFL's most mercurial players.