In helping the Bulls go 3-1 in the recent West Coast road trip, guard Coby White also continued to make sure his name is picking up votes for the league’s Most Improved Player Award.
Rick Bowmer/AP
LOS ANGELES – The campaign trail hit the West Coast this past week, and it’s safe to say it was a success.
Coby White’s push to earn the nomination of NBA’s 2023-24 Most Improved Player included wins over Sacramento, Utah, and Golden State, before a small setback with a Saturday afternoon stumble in Los Angeles against the Clippers.
No doubt Bulls veteran DeMar DeRozan was great in that 3-1 run with 29.8 points, 6.3 assists and 5.5 rebounds per game, but White played the role of Robin to DeRozan’s Batman to perfection. The point guard not only averaged 25.3 points, six assists and five rebounds in those four games, but shot an eye-opening 56.1% from the field and 48.6% from three-point range.
Of all the starters, the former North Carolina standout was the only one to have a positive plus/minus finishing with a total of plus-13.
No wonder injured guard Zach LaVine, who has admittedly been watching every Bulls game from afar as he rehabs his season-ending foot surgery, insisted where he would place his vote if he had one.
“I don’t think there is really anybody else that can have that say,” LaVine said of the MIP Award. “Coby probably has the most points per game that’s jumped, field-goal percentage, total three pointers, assists, rebounds … you can name it everything is up. He’s leading the league in minutes, I think, at least it feels like. He’s been tremendous.”
Maybe that’s been the most impressive number on White’s stat line. His availability.
DeRozan and White have both topped the league lead in minutes per game this season, and all White did on the left coast was average a team-high 40.9 minutes per game.
LaVine wasn’t surprised.
Even when White was struggling to find his way the two previous seasons, not only jumping from position to position in the backcourt but from starter to reserve, LaVine was always praising White’s talent.
“It’s great,” LaVine said of the breakout White has made. “The way he’s really worked this year, the way he worked last year, I know he’s worked extremely hard, but it’s hard to say you knew he had it in him, but to see him really put it together, the player he’s really becoming, it’s just special.”
The problem with this year’s MIP Award is White’s not the only one in the running.
Yes, he may have had the largest scoring jump (9.7 last year to 19.7 currently) of the candidates, but he’s not carrying the most hype.
Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey has been the leader the last month, according to the Las Vegas odds, and Houston big man Alperen Sengun is making a late-season push, especially the last week.
White thought he had a good week?
All Alperen did was average 27 points in a four-game stretch, including a ridiculous 45-point, 16-rebound, five-steal game against Rookie of the Year candidate Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs.
But there’s something bigger than the numbers that unfortunately the voters won’t get to see. White’s numbers have taken a jump, but so has his importance as a team leader.
That was evident very early on in the season when White had no problem loud-talking teammates on the floor, including the veterans.
An evolution of White that’s been embraced rather than looked down on by his older teammates.
“It’s been great, honestly,” center Nikola Vucevic said of White carrying a louder voice. “Last year was a little so-so for him, but he came back this year and has been playing great for us. Respect guys like that.
“You see so many young guys come into the league and they never figure it out. As I get older and knowing what I’ve been through to get where I am, you appreciate when young guys take advantage of the opportunity and play well.”