Coby White finds joy in growth beyond his role as a scorer for the Chicago Bulls: ‘It changes the way I look at everything’

Coby White used to define himself by one strength — his shot.

It was always the same in high school and college. White was an elite scorer. He knew it. His coaches and teammates knew it. On a certain level, White knew the value in ballhandling and playmaking. But if he could win the game by dropping 30 or 40 points, what was the use of switching his style?

White quickly found the answer to that question when he was drafted by the Bulls in 2019. The pace in the NBA was breathless, defenders closing viciously and shooting windows snapping shut in seconds. His success came in streaks — dropping seven 3-pointers against the Atlanta Hawks as a rookie, going on a 4-26 run the following four games. And despite White’s ability to produce from 3-point range, coach Billy Donovan wasn’t content to let him settle into a role as secondary shooter.

White now is logging fewer minutes, shooting fewer baskets and scoring fewer points. Yet this has been one of the most gratifying seasons of White’s growth in the NBA. The difference lies in definition.

“All my life, I’ve just been somebody that everybody said, ‘Just go score the ball.’ That’s been my role on every team growing up,” White told the Tribune. “When I got to the NBA, I thought the only way I could impact the game myself was by scoring. But I realized I didn’t want to be known as this guy who comes off the bench and just scores the ball.”

White is stubborn. He’s the first to admit it. He prides himself as a coachable player who seeks advice and applies it readily.

But changing his perception of himself as a player was a whole different battle. Longtime trainer Jeremy Jeffers constantly urged White to see himself as a more versatile player, but White just shrugged it off.

“I wish I would have listened back then a lot more than I listen now,” White, 23, said. “It would’ve helped me a lot.”

That began to change last season as the Bulls roster coalesced around the additions of DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vučević. White was no longer considered in the upper echelon of scorers on the roster — but he also refused to be pushed aside.

“Last year I kind of looked in the mirror and was like, look, we’ve got DeMar, we’ve got Zach, we’ve got Vooch,” White said. “We’ve got dudes that do it at a high level. That’s what they do. That’s what they get paid to do and they get paid a lot more money to do it than I do. I had to realize if I want to get on the court I’ve got to become a complete player that can get those guys shots.”

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The shift began in 2020. The Bulls were recalibrating their roster. Donovan needed White to step out of his comfort zone and bring the ball up more regularly.

Donovan had been focused on White’s growth beyond shooting since he took over as coach. But he cites the 2020-21 season — their first together with the Bulls — as the first step in White’s understanding of the player he could become.

“It’s been really incredible,” Donovan said. “Before, he just viewed himself as a scorer. That was it. But when we had him at the point for that full year, he learned a lot.”

Last summer, White focused heavily on ballhandling and defense. He spent six days per week in the gym, drilling his dribbling equally with his shot for the first time in his career.

The result was immediate. White has halved his turnovers over the last two seasons compared with his first two in the league. He pulls off audacious moves he didn’t feel comfortable even trying a year ago — scooping the ball behind his back while tiptoeing down the sideline, slaloming through traffic to sling a dart to a teammate in the corner, pulling back on a dime to send a defender crashing to the hardwood.

Defensively, White has become a consistent disrupter who still manages to fly under the radar for the Bulls. White nearly doubled his steals this season (averaging 1.2 per 36 minutes). Against the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday, he showcased his ability to hound opponents on the perimeter, snagging three steals in eight minutes.

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White credits Donovan’s persistence — alternating between encouragement and provocation — as the key to his growth.

“Billy helped me realize there’s way more to the game than just scoring,” White said. “He just never gave up on me becoming a complete player.”

This evolution meant White had to spend many games sitting in discomfort. He wanted to shoot the ball, wanted to stay settled in his catch-and-shoot comfort zone. And improving his ballhandling meant taking risks and making mistakes in live games.

But once his new role began to click last season, White found an unexpected joy in playmaking.

“Honestly, being an unselfish player and making those right reads — it felt good,” White said. “I don’t watch basketball the same anymore. It changes the way I look at everything.”