Chicago Bulls guard Coby White. David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Rising Bulls star joins Michael Jordan in elite company

By Sai Mohan | Last updated 4/18/24

Coby White has joined rarefied Airness.

The Bulls guard had 42 points, nine rebounds and six assists with zero turnovers in his team's 131-116 win over the Hawks in Wednesday's play-in game. By logging at least 40 points and five assists without a turnover, White became only the second Bulls player in history to achieve the stat line.

Coby White joins Michael Jordan (5x) as the only Bulls players to record 40+ PTS, 5+ AST, and 0 TO in any game (regular season/play-in/playoffs) since turnovers were recorded in 1977-78! pic.twitter.com/awagiRjD04
— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) April 18, 2024

White's 42 points were also a career-high for him, in what was arguably the biggest game of his career. A year ago, when the Bulls were in the exact play-in situation against the Raptors, White was a backup guard playing behind the likes of Patrick Beverley and Zach LaVine. During the offseason, there were calls for the Bulls to cut bait with the former No. 7 overall pick for not living up to his potential.

However, a lot has changed over the last 12 months for White, who averaged career-highs across the board — points (19.1), assists (5.1), rebounds (4.5) and minutes (36.5) — in the 2023-24 season.

White's turnaround season has also catapulted him to among the favorites to win the NBA's Most Improved Player award, with only Tyrese Maxey given shorter odds to take home the award.

Many of White's peers have been campaigning for him to win the award. While Chris Paul said White "better get it" for his improved season, Paul George recently explained why he's picking the Bulls guard over other candidates such as Maxey and Alperen Sengun.