The Bulls haven’t had a young player draw this kind of buzz in a long time, and Caleb Wilson is carrying it with the kind of confidence that turns heads fast. The 20-year-old forward from Atlanta, who played college basketball in North Carolina, has built his reputation on explosive dunks and pre-draft workouts that had people talking well before June arrived. The hype around him was already real, and it only grew louder from there.
Wilson has also made it clear he’s not shy about stepping into the spotlight. That fearless edge has fueled comparisons to Kevin Garnett, and Garnett himself showed up at NBA Summer League to watch. He even gave Wilson a nickname of his own, calling him “Little Ticket” in a nod to his old moniker, Big Ticket.
That kind of attention says plenty about how Wilson is being viewed before he’s even played his first official game. He’s already getting respect from people who know the league, and he’s leaning into it rather than backing away.
One of the biggest moments of his early NBA life came when he got in the gym with LeBron James. Wilson posted a photo of the two on Instagram, and other images surfaced showing them working together.
Both are Klutch Sports clients, but that still doesn’t make time with James routine. The NBA’s all-time leading scorer doesn’t just work out with anybody.
Wilson said during his first Chicago Bulls training camp this week that he and James worked out together a couple of times. And for the rookie, the biggest takeaway wasn’t a drill or a move. It was the conversation.
"It was cool," Wilson admitted. "It was more mental than physical stuff.
He taught me a lot about pressure and how he has dealt with it. Just talking to me a lot about the game - how to take care of your body, so he gave me a lot of pointers that I will take with me the rest of my career."
For a rookie trying to build a career the right way, there may not be a better person to learn from. James is heading into Year 24, and his ability to keep producing while managing his body has become part of his legacy. Wilson came away noticing that process up close.
"Just learning from him, seeing his routine and all of that," Wilson continued. "It was more a mental thing of appreciation and learning from him and just working out with him."
Whether this becomes the start of a longer mentorship remains to be seen, but Wilson’s first impression from being around James clearly stuck. For a player already carrying big expectations in Chicago, that kind of lesson is hard to ignore.
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