Chicago Bulls: 3 reasons why Coby White is not a star yet

3. Young players in the past have exploded late in a season, just to disappoint in the following season

White’s late-season explosion is nothing new to young players. Just within the past few years, players have seemingly broken out towards the end of the season, only to become a large disappointment in the following season. Now, we don’t know if the second part of that statement will hold for White, but this possibility cannot be ignored for a player who was so inconsistent over the majority of the season.

Perhaps the most notable example of this that avid NBA fans will recall is the situation of Josh Jackson in his rookie season. Before the All-Star Break, Jackson averaged 11.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.2 assists on an extremely poor 46.8 TS%. After the All-Star Break, Jackson came out averaging 18.7 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 2.5 assists on a poor, yet improved, 50.1 TS%.

Players don’t suddenly get significantly better as the season progresses, as their stats may show and lead one to believe, but rather, it’s due to a few reasons.

With it being later in the season, more injuries are bound to occur, and sometimes, this can be to star players. Even if it’s a starter, a team is missing a key piece. With easier opponents, players can take advantage of this and look better than they are.

Furthermore, star-level players on bad teams could be playing less so that the team can increase lottery odds; there is no reason to try to win and risk an injury to a star player if there is no chance to make the playoffs. For good teams, resting or load managing stars at this point in the season is almost a given, as teams don’t want their star players to be fatigued in a late playoff run.

Lastly, because the two above reasons could occur on a player’s team, an opportunity opens up for others to shine. Somebody needs to pick up if a star player is resting, or if a star player is injured, leading to a decisive breakout.

All of this goes to say, could this be happening with White? This question is not something answerable until next season.