Chicago Bulls Player Grades: Coby White

Coby White finished an up and down second season in the NBA on a strong note for the Chicago Bulls. Despite his role changing without notice, awkward fits in certain lineups and a new coach in year number two, the former North Carolina Tar Heel showed up to close out the 2020-21 NBA season.

After seeing his scoring numbers take a dip in the months of March and April, White was able to close out the season with a bang offensively to show that recent struggles weren’t something to be overly concerned about.

By season’s end, he was the Bulls third-leading scorer behind only all-stat talents Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic. White averaged 15.1 points per game in his first season playing for head coach Billy Donovan.

He was eventually moved from the starting lineup in favor of a bench role and had his share of ups and downs adjusting to the new role. Eventually, LaVine’s placement in the league’s health and safety protocols forced Donovan to reinsert White into the starting five and no one looked back from that point forward.

When the team desperately needed his scoring he stepped right back into the starting five and did so with extreme confidence. It showed right away as he looked like the player that had Bulls fans excited after the team drafted him before the 2019-20 NBA season.

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His ability to show up in the face of adversity was a huge thing to see for most of us. It is difficult at such a young age to be in the NBA and getting demoted can’t feel good. White showed the mental ability to not be bothered by those things and remained true to both himself and his teammates on the court.

The result was an up-and-down season with more positives than negatives. The same things he needed to work on one year ago he needs to work on today, and this off-season will be crucial for his development and long-term outlook.

Among the things needing improvement is defense, playmaking and decision making. That is not uncommon in a point guard/combo guard that just finished his second NBA season. The future is bright for White, though his game is still a work in progress as we stand today.

He can help the development of his game by studying certain players in the 2020-21 NBA Playoffs and putting in the work in the gym this off-season.

Coby White Player Grade: B

White has obvious flaws that are made more obvious by the roster around him. That causes his grade to dip some but still keeps it relatively high because of what he was able to prove about himself as a long-term prospect.

Further, Coby White was one of the brighter spots on a team that had an incredibly frustrating season.