Coby White Hits Six Threes, Scores 29 Points in Preseason Finale

White wraps up the preseason averaging 19.2 points

Mike Dinovo | USA TODAY Sports

The same questions that followed Coby White to North Carolina popped up again over the summer when he was chosen seventh overall by the Chicago Bulls in the NBA Draft.

Whether they're legitimate questions doesn't seem to matter at the moment as the Bulls haven't utilized him much in that role, instead playing him off the ball.

There's no question whether he's viable as an NBA scorer after the former Tar Heel knocked down 6 of 8 3-point attempts on his way to 29 points as Chicago topped Atlanta 111-93 on Thursday night in the Bulls' preseason finale.

The scoring outburst was his second 20-point game of the preseason, pushing his final average to 19.2 points — ninth among all players. His 96 points are tied for second with Sacramento's Buddy Hield, only trailing NBA scoring champion James Harden.

White's 16 3-pointers on 37 attempts (43.2 percent) are also second to Harden, who knocked down 18 in his five preseason games. 

Though he's billed as a point guard on the roster, White had a total of five assists in the preseason as he often played alongside another guard who could handle the ball in Tomas Satoransky, Zach LaVine or Ryan Arcidiacono.

Bulls coach Jim Boylen made it official on Wednesday that White would come off the bench, but refused to label his position, wrote Phil Thompson of the Chicago Tribune.

“We’re not going to put him in this peg … where he’s a 1, he’s a 2 or he’s a 3, he’s a this, he’s a that," Boylen said. "He’s a basketball player, he’s a baller. ... He just needs to play." 

Brian Ives of ESPN also dug up a heck of a stat regarding White's production in in the preseason.

Coby White's 29 points are the most by a Bulls rookie in the preseason since Derrick Rose had 30 in 2008 per my friend @StatsWilliams.

His 19.2 PPG this preseason are the 2nd-most by any rookie in the preseason in the last 15 years behind... Zion Williamson this season (23.3).

— Bryan Ives (@awaytoworthy) October 18, 2019

White and the Bulls open the regular season on Wednesday night at Charlotte, one of two meetings with the Hornets in the next month at the Spectrum Center.