Former Chicago Bulls guard Coby White made his Charlotte Hornets debut on Tuesday, and it came fittingly against his former team.
The 26-year-old returned to the United Center for the first time as a visitor, facing the organization that drafted him seventh overall in 2019.
White spent six and a half seasons in Chicago before the Bulls traded him to Charlotte on Feb. 4. In 451 games as a Bull, he averaged 15.4 points, 3.9 assists and 3.7 rebounds per game. He leaves as one of the most productive guards in franchise history.
For White, the memories he built in Chicago run deeper than the box scores.
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Walking into the United Center as a visitor carried a different weight for White. The veteran guard admitted feeling emotional entering the away locker room for the first time in a building he once called home.
But once the ball tipped, business took over. White came off the bench and helped the Hornets dismantle his former team 131-99. The6-foot-4 combo guard played 16 minutes, scoring 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting in his Charlotte debut.
After the game, White held no ill will toward the Bulls for moving him mid-season.
“The way the season was going, we really weren’t stacking enough wins consistently, so like I always said from the jump, I support whatever they think is best for the team,” White said, via the Chicago Sun-Times. “This organization believed in me. They gave me a chance and an opportunity to live out my dreams. So I just want to see the organization succeed.”
White understands the business side of basketball. But his appreciation for what he built in Chicago goes far beyond wins and losses.
“The basketball was always basketball,” White added. “That’s what I did, but I think the people here that I met [and] built relationships with was the thing that was the hardest for me [to leave]. You get used to seeing these people every day, but now you don’t.”
The Bulls absorbed their 10th consecutive defeat, falling to 24-35 and 12th in the Eastern Conference. The skid is a far cry from a promising 5-0 start to the season. Meanwhile, White’s new team sits at 28-31 and 10th in the East, firmly in play-in contention.
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