PHOENIX – DeMar DeRozan didn’t need Monday’s bright stage in the Valley of the Sun to remind him of what he already knew.
After all, DeRozan has been calling Bulls teammate Coby White a star for months.
Everybody else is just playing catch-up.
“You see teams game planning for him, blitzing him, trying to get the ball out of his hands,” DeRozan said of the treatment White has been receiving by the opposition’s game planning since November. “It’s a testament to his greatness that he’s evolved into in the NBA, and it’s an honor for me to be able to share the court with him.”
DeRozan wasn’t the only future Hall of Famer sharing the court with White in the two-point loss, however. There were also the likes of the scoring monster that is Kevin Durant, as well as Devin Booker and Bradley Beal.
Only Durant looked different than the rest – a measure of just how great he is – but there was very little difference in White, Booker, DeRozan and Beal.
An arrival for White?
Maybe, maybe not, but definitely something special on his way to 10 of his 26 points coming in the pivotal fourth quarter, as well as finishing the night with 10 rebounds, nine assists and just one turnover.
It wasn’t just the numbers, however. It was the substance. Plays made that impact winning even in a loss.
It’s one thing pulling out the rock-a-bye-baby hesitation move on teammates in practice, but hitting it on Durant not once, but twice, that screams special.
It’s one thing scoring late in games in a back-and-forth contest, but to be trading baskets with three future Hall of Famers and not even blinking? That’s more than an arrival. It’s a statement.
“Those guys are great, great players, and DeMar alongside of them, those guys will be in the Hall of Fame,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said of White’s latest showing. “Maybe Coby isn’t as established as high as those guys are with their number of years in the league, but for what he’s done from his rookie league to now I think speaks to where he can get to.
“He’s been unbelievable. He’s played incredibly well. These guys have been multi-All-Stars but (White) showed that he’s going to be an elite basketball player, elite guard in this league, and I really believe that. And it’s going to be because of the work he’s put into it.”
As well as the fifth-year player’s attitude about his emergence.
White’s individual confidence is always high, but it doesn’t sit atop the priority list. He made that very clear when asked about his night in Phoenix.
“It don’t matter (how we played),” White said. “At the end of the day in this league it’s about winning and losing, and we didn’t win. So I don’t look at none of that. I care about wins and losses, as a unit we care about wins and losses.
“It was fun to compete. We were going back and forth. They hit timely shots, we hit timely shots. Kevin Durant hit the most timely shot of the game.”
That’s why the likes of a DeRozan not only believes in White, but has full trust in him. He knows White’s individual accomplishments don’t outweigh that of the team.
“The thing about Coby is how hard he works, how resilient he is, the competitor he is,” DeRozan added. “He deserves much more credit than he’s getting with the improvement (from previous years). As a leader, coming through big, it’s been amazing to be a part of.”