DENVER — With the shot clock waning on the Chicago Bulls’ final possession of the third quarter Monday night against the Denver Nuggets, the ball naturally found Coby White.
He’s become the Bulls’ safety net, but this time, pesky Nuggets defender Peyton Watson made White’s job more difficult. When he caught a pass at the free-throw line, White quickly went to work, dribbling twice to his left before running into a wall of Denver defenders. He faked a spin move to his right but immediately pivoted back to his left, stopping Watson in his tracks just enough to create a sliver of daylight with five seconds showing on the shot clock.
The second Watson recovered, White was gone. He stepped underneath Watson for a smooth up-and-under layup. It tied the game, left his teammates in disbelief and showcased exactly how sensational White has been as a scorer since he became the Bulls’ go-to guy.
“That was cold,” Bulls reserve center Zach Collins said of the play.
White finished with a game-high 37 points in Chicago’s 129-119 road win, showing a Western Conference contender (playing without reigning MVP Nikola Jokić and starter Aaron Gordon) why he was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the second consecutive week. White became the first Bulls player since Michael Jordan to win the award in consecutive weeks and the first player from the East since Joel Embiid in 2022-23.
With 30 seconds remaining, “Coby White” chants broke out from Bulls fans who flooded Ball Arena.
“COBY WHITE! COBY WHITE! COBY WHITE!”
We played in Denver tonight 🫡 pic.twitter.com/PB2cuw4b8u
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) March 25, 2025
“Yeah, that was kind of crazy,” White said.
The night encapsulated how far White has come and how much he’s willed the Bulls to wins lately. Chicago is 8-2 in its past 10 games and just closed a six-game Western Conference road trip with a 4-2 record. White wasn’t the only reliable weapon for the Bulls during the stretch, but he was their most valuable.
Over the past 10 games, White averaged 30.6 points on 50.7 percent shooting from the field and 36.8 percent from the 3-point line in 36.2 minutes per game. The 37 points against Denver additionally meant he joined Jordan and five others as the only Bulls players to score 30 points in three straight games. He had 36 in a win Saturday against the Los Angeles Lakers and 35 last Thursday against the Sacramento Kings.
White’s scoring jumps out from Bulls highlights and box scores, but there’s nothing he isn’t doing for the team.
“He’s evolved into a great player, all the way around,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said. “He’s playing both ends. It’s not just the scoring.”
Slippery moves like the one White revealed at the end of the third quarter tell a story within his evolution. Big scoring nights have become routine for White because he’s learned to keep defenders off balance. His footwork has been fantastic since entering the NBA six seasons ago, but his ballhandling, pace and finishing have all improved. Now, even dependable defenders like Denver’s Watson don’t know what to expect.
“I thought he was going to kick it out, and he just stayed patient,” Collins said. “But you don’t feel comfortable doing that stuff unless you work on it. When you’re in that phone booth, good footwork gets you out of a lot of bad places … so, it was fun to see.”
White chuckled when asked if this stretch is the most unstoppable he’s ever felt. Throughout his career, White has been grounded enough to know a tough night can always come tomorrow. But he also said he hasn’t been surprised by anything he’s accomplished lately.
“I put in a lot of work toward this game, and I genuinely love it,” White said. “If I didn’t play in the NBA and I wasn’t getting paid, I would still play every single day. I genuinely love the game. I wouldn’t say I’m surprised; I’m just thankful and grateful I’m in this situation and I have this opportunity.
“I feel like I’m in a good groove right now. I feel like I’m doing it in different ways, which is different from the past when I’ve been on hot streaks. I feel like I’m doing it at all three levels.”
And he’s doing it consistently.
“I think for anybody in the NBA, whether you’re playing like Coby or a role player or you’re the second option, doing it again is always the hardest part,” Collins said. “That’s what separates people in the NBA. Now he has the accolades to say he’s been doing it for two, three, four weeks now.
“I just feel like that commitment to his craft, the mental side of it, too, especially at this point of the year, that shows a lot about him and what he’s trying to accomplish individually. We need every bit of it to get these wins. He’s locked in, you can tell.”
(Top photo: Isaiah J. Downing / Imagn Images)
