New 76er Royce White tried last week to dispel any speculation that air travel would hinder him from playing for the team this season.

However, the 6-foot-8 forward, who has an anxiety disorder, wasn’t among the 14 players who flew here [Spain] Thursday. The Sixers will face Bilbao Basket on Sunday at the Bizkala Arena at Bilbao Exhibition Center. On Tuesday, they will face Oklahoma City in Manchester, England.

“It really was just based on our team doctor giving me and [general manager] Sam [Hinkie] and the club advice that it may be best for him to remain at home,” Sixers coach Brett Brown said of White’s absence. “You know we are with him. We will support and help him.”

Reported by Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer

The plan was to have Royce White accompany the team on the European trip that includes two games and stops in Bilbao, Spain and Manchester, England. As late as Wednesday, a day before the team’s departure, that plan was still in place. In the hours before the flight, however, the plans changed, and White didn’t go.

White, the 16th overall pick by the Houston Rockets in 2012, didn’t play at all in the NBA last season because of a battle with the team over his anxiety disorder, which makes it difficult for him to get on a plane. He said last week at media day that he would fly to games when necessary and drive to others when he could. But the team decided to let him sit out the trans-Atlantic flight at the last minute after conferring with White’s doctors.

“He was given a hall pass,” is what one team executive said yesterday.

Reported by Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News