Caleb Wilson’s NBA debut came with the kind of stat line no rookie wants attached to his name.
The No. 4 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft stepped onto the floor Wednesday night for Chicago, but the Bulls were blown out by the Toronto Raptors, 135-92, at Scotiabank Arena. Wilson still got his first taste of the league, though it came with a brutal entry in the record book: a -45 plus-minus, the worst mark ever in a player’s debut, according to Underdog NBA on X.
That number pushed past two previous ugly debut standards. Jalen Green had been at the top with a -37, set in the Houston Rockets’ 124-106 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Oct.
20, 2021. Green finished that night with nine points, four rebounds, four assists, and one steal in 32 minutes, while shooting 4-for-14 from the field.
Amen Thompson was next in line at -34, reached in the Rockets’ 116-86 loss to the Orlando Magic on Oct. 25, 2023. He scored eight points on 3-for-10 shooting, and added five rebounds and two assists in 21 minutes off the bench.
Wilson’s debut followed the same theme of pain, only louder. He played 32 minutes and finished with 16 points on 7-for-21 shooting, plus four rebounds, three steals, and one block. The bigger problem was the turnovers: nine of them, a number that helped turn his night into a rough welcome to the pros.
After the game, Wilson didn’t duck the mess. He pointed straight at the lessons.
“I feel like watching film, I learned a lot from it, but also just seeing the fact that I think I had so many turnovers today,” Wilson said, via Bulls on CHSN. “But just because the lanes were so tight, because the hands are there.
So that’s just something I have to learn from and just making sure I’m moving sharper. But everything was just more congested, and that’s just something you can see and learn from.
“I just couldn’t get any shots,” Wilson continued. “I mean, I tried to drive a lot of closeouts.
I was able to get to the lane and get them out, but I just couldn’t hit anything. I don’t feel like that’s going to be a consistent thing.
So it’s just something to move on to the next game about.
“I mean, I feel like some of the turnovers that I had were like just not catching the ball, just miscommunication sometimes, and then also just knowing my position on the court,” Wilson added. “I had one out-of-bounds turnover, too.
So I mean, I just feel like it’s all a learning lesson. Never too high, never too low.”
It was a rough night, but not the kind that changes how Wilson is viewed long term. He was praised during Summer League as a possible blend of Kevin Durant and Kevin Garnett, and the talent is still there.
The Bulls will get another shot quickly, with Milwaukee next on Friday at Fiserv Forum at 4:00 p.m. ET.
The Bucks are expected to be one of the worst teams in the NBA, and that matchup should be a much softer landing spot.
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