It took a while to find Coby White’s stats in the box score after the Charlotte Hornets’ 131–99 rout of the Chicago Bulls. He was nowhere to be found. Then I realized I’d been looking at the wrong side. A glance at the Hornets’ column told the story: 10 points, three rebounds, four assists, and two steals in 16 minutes.
It wasn’t some monstrous revenge game for Coby against his former team, but it didn’t have to be. Returning from a near three-week absence due to a left calf strain, White is still ramping up, which helps explain why he logged just 16 minutes in Charlotte’s 131–99 win over Chicago.
There was no ill will from the North Carolina native toward his former team. In a pregame interview, White spoke highly of the Bulls, even saying, “…I just want to see them succeed.”
"This organization believed in me. They gave me a chance and an opportunity to live out my dream. So I just want to see [them] succeed."
— Bulls on CHSN (@CHSN_Bulls) February 24, 2026
Coby White showed his appreciation for the Bulls ahead of his return to Chicago tonight 🙌 pic.twitter.com/Q4RwuhqabT
Coby White provided a boost to topple his old team
In the end, White still defeated his former team in his debut for his home-state Hornets… so perhaps there was a touch of poetic justice after all. And while his counting stats won’t jump off the page, he sparked Charlotte’s push after a 14–2 Bulls run in the second quarter.
With the Hornets down 45–36 midway through the second quarter, White entered and immediately shifted the momentum. Charlotte answered with a 13–2 run to grab a 49–47 lead, and White was at the center of it. He scored six points while adding two rebounds, an assist, and a steal.
The next time the 26-year-old checked in, late in the third quarter, Charlotte held a commanding 88–65 lead. He logged just six more minutes before heading to the sidelines for good, as the Hornets emptied the bench in the blowout.
Because of that second-quarter surge, White finished fifth on the team in plus/minus at plus-20, despite logging the 10th-most minutes among Charlotte’s rotation players.
It served as a fitting cap to White’s return to the United Center. He didn’t need to light up the scoreboard in his Hornets debut—his impact was felt elsewhere. Now part of an up-and-coming Charlotte squad brimming with talent, White finds himself in a better position than the 28–31 record might suggest. Since the new year, the Hornets own the league’s third-best mark at 17–9, giving him a legitimate shot at returning to the playoffs for the first time in four years.