Bulls guard Coby White has a strong showing on campaign trail out west

LOS ANGELES — The campaign trail hit the West Coast last week, and it’s safe to say it was a success.

Coby White’s push to earn a nomination for the NBA’s Most Improved Player award included victories against the Kings, Jazz and Warriors before a small setback Saturday against the Clippers.

Bulls veteran DeMar DeRozan was great in that 3-1 run with 29.8 points, 6.3 assists and 5.5 rebounds per game, but White played the role of Robin to DeRozan’s Batman to perfection. The point guard not only averaged 25.3 points, six assists and five rebounds in those four games, but he also shot an eye-opening 56.1% from the field and 48.6% from three-point range.

Of all the starters, the former North Carolina standout was the only one to have a positive plus/minus, finishing with a plus-13.

No wonder injured guard Zach LaVine, who admittedly has been watching every Bulls game from afar as he rehabs his foot after season-ending surgery, disclosed who he would vote for if he had a ballot.

“I don’t think there is really anybody else that can have that say,” LaVine said. “Coby probably has the most points per game that’s jumped, field-goal percentage, total three-pointers, assists, rebounds . . . you can name it, everything is up. He’s leading the league in minutes, I think, at least it feels like. He’s been tremendous.”

Maybe that has been the most impressive part of White’s season: his availability.

DeRozan and White have topped the league lead in minutes per game this season, and White averaged a team-high 40.9 minutes during the road trip.

LaVine wasn’t surprised.

Even when White was struggling to find his way the last two seasons, not only jumping from position to position in the backcourt but also from starter to reserve, LaVine was always praising White’s talent.

“It’s great,” LaVine said of White’s breakout. “The way he’s really worked this year, the way he worked last year, I know he’s worked extremely hard, but it’s hard to say you knew he had it in him, but to see him really put it together, the player he’s really becoming, it’s just special.”

But White has competition for the MIP award.

Yes, he has the largest scoring jump (from 9.7 to 19.7) of the candidates, but he’s not carrying the most hype.

The Sixers’ Tyrese Maxey has been the leader the last month, according to Las Vegas odds, and Houston big man Alperen Sengun is making a late-season push.

Sengun averaged 27 points in a four-game stretch, including a ridiculous 45-point, 16-rebound, five-steal game against Rookie of the Year candidate Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs.

But there’s something bigger than the numbers that unfortunately the voters might not see as clearly. White’s numbers have taken a jump, but so has his importance as a team leader.

That was evident early on in the season when White had no problem shouting instructions on the floor, including to the veterans.

This evolution has been embraced rather than rejected by his older teammates.

“It’s been great, honestly,” center Nikola Vucevic said. “Last year was a little so-so for him, but he came back this year and has been playing great for us. Respect guys like that.

“You see so many young guys come into the league and they never figure it out. As I get older and knowing what I’ve been through to get where I am, you appreciate when young guys take advantage of the opportunity and play well.”