Chris Paul is proud to see his mentee Coby White finally break out this season
Golden State Warriors point guard Chris Paul isn’t surprised by the feats of greatness Chicago Bulls point guard Coby White is churning out this season. After all, he was there to see White put in the work when he was still trying to make it to the NBA.
Now as the Goldsboro, North Carolina native continues to take the league by storm as the regular season winds down, CP3 hopes White will get his due and cop the Most Improved Player award.
Coby is deserving of the award
CP3 and White go way back when the latter played for the former’s AAU squad when he was only 16 years old. Since then, CP3 has taken White under his wing and considers him a little brother of sorts. So when White dropped 20 points and seven assists on CP3 and the Warriors last Thursday in a shocking 125-122 win, it was no surprise to CP3. He knows what White is capable of and believes he deserves recognition for his hard work and improvement this season.
“Coby deserves it,” CP3 said of the plaudits White has been receiving this season.
“He’s always been a hard worker. But the way he worked this past summer was different. He’s getting a chance to see the fruits of his labor.”
The fruits CP3 is referring to are White’s career-high numbers of 19.7 points, 5.3 assists, and 4.8 rebounds per game. While these figures are a by-product of the amount of minutes he’s playing this season (White leads the NBA in total minutes played), his consistency shows his superb growth and development as a player.
“He’s not just doing it every now and again,” Paul said.
“He’s doing it night in and night out. And that’s when you earn that respect around the league.”
The next step
Knowing White better than most players, CP3 said White isn’t likely to be content with playing in the Play-in Tournament or even the first round of the NBA Playoffs.
“I know Coby’s a winner. So he wants to be on that stage playing in big games,” CP3 shared.
However, chances are White’s game needs to go up several levels higher to lift the Bulls up to that stage. CP3 emphasized White is ready and raring to take that challenge on.
“He’s ready for that. I am never worried about that. Coby’s been a dog for a long time. He’s going to be ready for whatever comes his way.”
