The last Bulls’ rookie to win the NBA’s Rookie of the Year Award was Derrick Rose. He was really good at basketball, so is Bulls’ rookie combo guard, Coby White. With the preseason coming to a close against the Atlanta Hawks this past Thursday, White had 29 points, six rebounds, and shot 6-of-8 from the three-point line in just 23 minutes on the court. He was also +33 in that short amount of time.
White has shown agility, speed, and creativity getting to the hoop and scoring in the same fashion a young Rose did in the 2010 season. White’s coach in college, Roy Williams, called him, “The best scoring point guard I’ve ever coached.”
Over the last ten seasons, the average Rookie of the Year winner plays nearly 34 minutes and averages 17.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 5 assists per a game while shooting 46.7% from the field.
In his five preseason games, White averaged 19.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1 assist, and shot 44.8% from the field while playing nearly 26 minutes per game.
With numbers like that, White should be in the conversation for Rookie of the Year, especially with the odds on favorite, Zion Williamson now set to miss multiple weeks with a knee injury.
Here are the current odds to win the award, according to oddsshark.com.
| Zion Williamson | -150 |
| Ja Morant | +350 |
| RJ Barret | +550 |
| Michael Porter Jr. | +1600 |
| Coby White | +1800 |
| Darrius Garland | +1800 |
At 18-to-1 to win, if you bet a hundred dollars on him, you’d win $1,800. There’s definitely some value in those odds.
As the regular season starts on Wednesday against the Charlotte Hornets, White is set to come off the bench and play in the backcourt with point guard Kris Dunn. White might need to average a few more minutes per game in order to enhance his chance to be Rookie of the Year, but as the season moves along don’t be surprised if White gets mixed in with the starting lineup and takes those numbers to another level.
