For seemingly this entire draft cycle, there was a clear top three of AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson and Boozer. All three had their acolytes arguing that they should go No. 1, and outside of a few brave souls willing to step outside the box, Caleb Wilson was almost never mentioned among them.
The consensus was that he had a chance to be a great fourth pick, but he was never seriously discussed as more than that.
Well, that perception may be shifting already.
Wilson’s debut in Vegas may have been the single-best individual performance anyone has had this summer.
He went for 35 points on 12-of-21 shooting, blocked three shots and had two steals. Most alarmingly, he made seven threes (his total from his entire freshman year at North Carolina).
Now, Wilson didn’t grab many rebounds, and he had six turnovers and zero assists. But there was a fluidity to his scoring that we didn’t see a ton of in college.
There were hints it might be there, but it always seemed like it’d take a while to develop. Realistically, Wilson was going to be impactful with his absurd athleticism early. Stardom would be reached if he added skill.
What this week’s performance suggests is that he’s a lot closer on that second step than we realized. And if he’s already ready to play like a small forward on offense, the Bulls may have snagged a future perennial All-Star outside this summer’s vaunted top three.
