The Chicago Bulls knew that North Carolina forward Caleb Wilson was one of the four blue-chip talents in the 2026 NBA Draft. However, any responsible organization would have to do its homework on such a player. Too many times, such a prospect has had red flags appear after they’ve been drafted, saddling the team with a cancer they had no idea they were getting. Wilson certainly had the physical tools. Bulls VP Bryson Graham and his staff need to know what type of person he was, on and off the court.
That pre-draft interview would be big for their final decision. The Bulls thought they had an idea of what to expect when the meeting took place. According to new footage released by the team, that was not the case. It didn’t take long to recognize that Wilson was not your normal 19-year-old kid coming out of college. His self-confidence stood out immediately, assuring the team that he was more than up to the challenge of being the leader they needed.
If that weren’t enough, Graham and new director of player personnel, Brian Hagen, were blown away by Wilson’s intensity and maturity.
Caleb Wilson has a secret others didn’t know.
Most 1st round picks tend to fall into the same category: incredible athletic ability and clear immaturity from a personality standpoint. That isn’t their fault. They’re still kids for the most part. They haven’t learned how to operate like professionals yet. Noa Essengue is a perfect example. Everybody could see he was talented, but his soft-spoken nature and raw skill set meant he would need time to blossom. That hasn’t been the case with Wilson. His work ethic and approach to the game have been more advanced than those of normal rookies.
🔥 Subscribe to the Untold Chicago YouTube channel to hear Chicago legends tell stories you’ve never seen in headlines — real moments, real experiences, straight from the athletes themselves.
It is why he put on such a show in his Summer League debut, scoring 35 points and hitting 7-of-11 from downtown. This comes after draft experts insisted he didn’t have any semblance of a jump shot. It is pretty obvious he spent the time he missed with a broken thumb working on his game in preparation for the NBA. As for the intensity? Not being able to finish his season with North Carolina, watching them get eliminated in the first round, and then hearing all the critics during the draft lit a fire in his belly.
Not because he didn’t like criticism. It was because the criticism was wrong. Wilson can shoot. He always could. North Carolina just never let him.
The proof was always there in the stats.
Not the college stats, mind you. The high school stats. Caleb Wilson started two years at Holy Innocents Episcopal in Atlanta, Georgia. As a junior, he connected on 55% of his shots. Then, as a senior, he pushed that to 57%. That season catapulted Holy Innocents to its first-ever Private School State Championship. However, upon arrival in North Carolina, he was inserted into an offense built on the fast break and running the floor. Wilson primarily played power forward for the Tar Heels, which meant his responsibility was attacking the rim.
It was never that he lacked the ability to shoot. He was merely doing as his coaches asked. Despite that, he still turned himself into a top 4 pick. Wilson admitted that he’s almost glad it happened that way. If teams had learned he could actually shoot well, he probably would’ve gone earlier in the draft. He wouldn’t have ended up in Chicago. In a weird way, it is similar to what North Carolina did with Michael Jordan years ago. He only averaged 14 shots per game in college, far from the 22 he would in Chicago. If Dean Smith had allowed him to dominate the ball more, it’s hard to imagine Hakeem Olajuwon going #1 overall in that 1984 draft.
| Level | Season | Points/PPG | Rebounds/RPG | Assists/APG | Blocks/BPG | Steals/SPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High School | Freshman (2021–22) | 16.2 | 7.3 | 3.3 | 2.4 | 1.1 |
| High School | Sophomore (2022–23) | 14.5 | 12.6 | 3.9 | 5.2 | 1.2 |
| High School | Junior (2023–24) | 20.8 | 14.6 | 4.7 | 4.4 | 1.8 |
| High School | Senior (2024–25) | 21.6 | 11.1 | 5.0 | 3.5 | 2.1 |
| College (UNC) | Freshman (2025–26) | 19.8 | 9.4 | 2.7 | 1.4 | 1.5 |
These implications are massive.
The entire selling point of passing on Wilson was that he was not a good shooter. He was a great athlete with two-way ability, but nothing close to a finished product. This revelation suggests scouts were hoodwinked. They fell for the narrative that he couldn’t shoot rather than not being allowed to shoot. As a result, they went for safer prospects who’d been allowed to do so with their respective programs. That strange twist of fate may have landed the Bulls a more complete prospect than anyone could’ve imagined.
Caleb Wilson was already a dangerous offensive threat without the consistent jumper. If this kid can knock down 50% of his field goals and 37% of his threes, it will be a nightmare to stop. To say nothing of what he may soon offer defensively. Good scouting is a central part of building great teams in the NBA. However, many times it comes down to good luck. The Bulls got it when Portland passed on Jordan in 1984, and again when they won the lottery for Derrick Rose. It may have just happened again.
