Getty Coby White #0 and Nikola Vucevic #9 of the Chicago Bulls.
Chicago Bulls breakout star Coby White has snapped out of his funk in grand fashion.
After connecting on 2-for-4 threes en route to 22 points in the Bulls’ blowout loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on March 1, White helped spark a turnaround in the 113-109 win over the Sacramento Kings on March 4.
He finished the night with a career-high 37 points and, perhaps even more encouraging, connected on five of his nine looks from beyond the arc.
While White appreciated his efforts, he appreciated his teammates’ efforts even more.
“It was cool, it was dope,” White told reporters about his new career-high mark. “I look at it as we got a good, solid team win and I’m proud of our team.”
Have a night, @CobyWhite 🥶
White scored 16 points in the third quarter. But he first pointed to DeMar DeRozan’s 19 fourth-quarter points before moving on to the rest of his team’s contributions to the comeback victory that saw the Bulls overcome a 22-point deficit.
DeRozan finished with 33 points, four assists, and two steals.
Coby White Touts Team Effort in Bulls’ Comeback Win
“I think more so DeMar in the fourth, with however many he had,” White said. “I think it was a team effort. Ayo [Dosunmu] played really big. And AC [Alex Caruso] I think had, I don’t know, four or five steals. So he played really big.
“Julian [Phillips] came in, gave us some big minutes. [He] had a big-time charge, got to the free-throw line, and had a big-time cut that got us a layup. Everybody contributed to the win – Vooch [Nikola Vucevic] with a tip late that got AC the offensive rebound. Drum [Andre Drummond], the way he was screening tonight was unbelievable, getting all the guards downhill. JC [Jevon Carter], everybody contributed to this win.
“I don’t really look at it like, ‘Oh, me and Deebo was doing this and that.’ I look at it as we got a good, solid team win and I’m proud of our team.”
Dosunmu scored 15 of his 20 points in the first half, and nine points in the first quarter alone.
Congrats to Ayo Dosunmu for passing the 2,000 career points with this 3-pointer!
Caruso struggled from the floor, finishing with two points on 1-for-10 shooting. He was 0-for-6 from beyond the arc. But the 2023 All-Defensive First Teamer dished out a season-high seven assists while his four steals fell just one short of tying his best mark of the campaign.
Phillips scored all six of his points in the fourth quarter in addition to his efforts on the defensive end.
Vucevic logged his 34th double-double of the season, tied for the seventh-most in the league.
Carter and Drummond played the fewest and fourth-fewest minutes, respectively. But they finished tied with a team-high plus-9 plus-minus. Still, White’s night had to be a relief for everyone in the organization.
Coby White Among Betting Favorites for Most Improved Player
The fifth-year guard entered the night shooting 18.8% from three over his previous four outings. He had struggled from the floor, shooting 30.1% overall since returning from the All-Star break.
He is averaging 19.6 points, 5.3 assists, 4.8 rebounds, shooting 38.7% from three this season.
COBY WHITE SETS A CAREER HIGH WITH 37 POINTS AND GIVES THE BULLS THE LEAD WITH UNDER A MINUTE TO GO!
Those are all career-high marks, putting White among the betting favorites to win Most Improved Player this season, per Vegas Insider. White’s growth as a vocal leader has arguably been the most significant development.
His comments after his big night underscore that point and bode well for his continued ascension this season and into the future.