Coby White helped the Charlotte Hornets beat his old team, the Chicago Bulls.
Coby White made his Charlotte Hornets debut on Tuesday against his old team, the Chicago Bulls.
The Hornets acquired White from the Bulls at this year's NBA trade deadline, but White had to wait to make his Charlotte debut because of a calf injury.
White played 16 minutes against the Bulls and put up 10 points and four assists while shooting 4-of-9 from the field and 2-of-4 from 3. The Hornets won by 32 points and White was all smiles after the game.
“To me, I felt like I fit right in, it being my first time,” White said, via the Charlotte Observer. “I fit right in to what they are trying to do. Obviously, some wrinkles here and there in terms of play calling. I messed up two plays there, so I’ve got to get better there.
“But, yeah, it was fun for me. Game one for me, I was just trying to impact the game any way that I can not knowing how it would go and just tying to feel it out.”
White is in the final year of his contract. He becomes an unrestricted free agent this offseason, so the Hornets traded for a player who could be a rental.
A UNC product, White isn't thinking about the summer yet. He's focused on helping the Hornets rise in the Eastern Conference standings and end their playoff drought.
“I think first is just using my years of experience and everything I’ve been through to help in terms of leadership, in terms of using my voice,” White said. “I think just on the court, just figuring out, obviously you want to be yourself, but the reality is you got to fit into a new system, into a new role. So for me, it’s ‘How can I be myself while also fitting into a new role and a new system?’ “If I just focus on that everything will take care of itself in terms of me impacting the game, just because I’m going to compete, and I’m going to play hard, and I’m going to play with effort, and I’m going to play with joy and passion. That’s already a given in terms of me just going through these games and figuring out how my skill set applies to helping the team.”
White is averaging 18.3 points and 4.7 assists per game on the season. He's only 26 years old.
With White, LaMelo Ball, Miles Bridges and Kon Knueppel leading the way, Charlotte appears to have a bright future.
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