Chicago Bulls: 5 best games from Coby White’s rookie season

1. Nov. 12 vs. New York Knicks

Result: 120-102 Win

The win over the Wizards where White posted 33 points and the loss to the Thunder where he had a career-best 35 points were the two highest game scores for White so far through his rookie season. But the Chicago Bulls fan base has to look back with the most fond memories of any one outing for White in his rookie season back on Nov. 12, in a home win at the United Center over the old rival New York Knicks.

While the Knicks and Bulls were once again two of the saddest franchises in the NBA, this Nov. 12 showdown in the Windy City showed off two promising rookies that were also college rivals. Former North Carolina Tar Heels point guard White took on the former Duke Blue Devils shooting guard/wing R.J. Barrett on this night.

Both Barrett and White had memorable nights, but the latter came out on top in the end. Barrett registered 21 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field and 2-of-4 from beyond the arc to go along with nine rebounds, one assist, and one block (the only for the entire Knicks team in this game). White countered that with a team-high 27 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field, 7-of-11 from beyond the arc, and a perfect 4-of-4 from the charity stripe.

This is the third-highest game score that White had during his rookie season to date. But while it was not that close to his career-best in points in an individual game, or his best game score, it was historic for a much different reason. White went nuclear again in the fourth quarter, setting a franchise record with seven-three pointers made. That was a record that surpassed other former Bulls players such as Steve Kerr and all-time great shooting guard Michael Jordan.