If you’re judging by Summer League alone, Caleb Wilson made a strong enough case to sit at the front of the rookie conversation. The Chicago Bulls forward and former North Carolina standout looked like the most impressive first-year player on the floor, with only Milwaukee Bucks rookie Brayden Burries offering any real pushback.
That kind of showing matters. It gave Bulls fans something to latch onto, and after years of searching for a difference-maker, there’s obvious reason for excitement.
But Summer League is still just the first checkpoint, not the final verdict. Wilson’s place in this class will ultimately be decided by what he does in regular-season games and, eventually, in the playoffs.
Still, not everyone is waiting around for the full sample size.
Charles Barkley went all the way in on Wilson, giving the Bulls rookie the kind of praise that turns heads. “I think the Chicago Bulls got the best rookie in the NBA.
When I was talking to coaches and general managers, they are like, 'Who would you take with the No. 1 pick?' I said, 'Caleb Wilson.'
They are like, 'What do you mean?' I said, 'I like (AJ) Dybantsa.
I like (Darryn) Peterson. There was no player I would have taken before Caleb Wilson.
“Not one.' Peterson and Dybantsa are probably better scorers at this stage, but he can learn how to shoot.
Let me tell you something: From an athletic point, he can guard one, two, three, four. Ain't nobody more talented than Caleb Wilson.
Period,” Barkley said, per Rookie Wire.
Wilson’s name is being tossed into the same breath as AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson and Cameron Boozer, and that alone tells you how high the ceiling talk has gotten. The source material makes clear that Dybantsa and Boozer are excellent prospects, while Peterson remains the one the writer believes could become one of the elite players in NBA history.
Even with that view in the mix, Wilson’s appeal is hard to ignore. The athletic tools are obvious, and the upside is the kind teams can’t manufacture. The Bulls may have landed a very good player here, but Wilson still has plenty left to prove before anyone can stamp him as the best of the bunch.
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