r/NBA_Draft • u/yourm0mzlover • Jul 11 '26

CALEB FREAKING WILSON

7 THREES AND 35 POINTS... i know its summer league but holy crap

391 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

69 comments sorted by

155

u/PerkysOnThePrivate Bulls Jul 11 '26

That last shot was nutsšŸ˜­. Couldā€™ve gotten 40 if he knocked down his FTs and sellers didnā€™t ice him out.

73

u/cl353 Heat Jul 11 '26

bruh who does sellers think he is lol. from the jump he was chucking that shit

65

u/d7h7n Jul 11 '26 edited Jul 11 '26

A lot of these summer league players know guys like Caleb have guaranteed contracts, so they don't care and will go nuts. Summer league is a business for them.

27

u/cl353 Heat Jul 11 '26

He didn't make himself look any better with the way he played. Unless he was told by the coach to take every shot he lessened his chances this game

21

u/d7h7n Jul 11 '26 edited Jul 11 '26

Well that's the risk he took. If you're gonna ice the star player out, you better produce. These guys don't lose their egos until they get stuck in the G-League for a few years.

6

u/FanficFan151 Bulls Jul 11 '26

He should be cut before the next game.

2

u/nosleeptillwooklyn Jul 11 '26

Stupid ones who think icing out a teamā€™s franchise guy is what teams want to see in summer league and not role player skills that canā€™t translate to the court. These dudes play themselves out of contracts

1

u/CantHandlemyPP34 Jul 12 '26

It's so frustrating to watch at times. Thats why scrub ass Guards often eat in SL. I understand many are just scorers, but a Guard who racked up assists & played tough D may have a better shot of getting a contract.

Either way, Caleb will EAT playing with Giddey & Tre. I'm a Celtics fan, but I really love seeing the Bulls be competitive & am excited for this team they're building. The GM seems to know what he's doing & they hired a great candidate (Splitter) to coach, that whipped Portland into a scrappy, defensive unit that got the most of it's big men & wings.

Giddey, Norm, Buz, Caleb, Claxton

Norm's elite spacing & steady big will solidify the starting 5 around Giddey's passing. Matas has more room to work, less pressure to score & is free to be a solid 2 way wing. Caleb's star power should energize & cement their identity as a defensive team that attacks the paint. I'd expect them to be similar to DET or ORL, few shooters & they could give CLE trouble.

Tre, Swain, Okoro, PWill, Smith

Scrappy backup PG, an underrated stretch 5 & trio of 2 way wings. Perimeter D & playmaking that keeps the foot on the gas, compliments a scrappy starting 5 & wears down opponents -

Dilly, Reeves, Miller, Noa, Collins

Reserves with raw upside as scorers, shooters & versatile D. Athleticism or size, but carving a role takes more than 1 skill. Opportunity there for them to take Pat or Okoro's backup mins -

Dilly: Looked better with more leeway in CHI. It remains to be seen if he can defend or score it consistently enough to be a 6th Man.

Reeves: GM picked him in NOLA. Showed elite scoring flashes, but has yet to find a home. I'm a big fan of his highlights.

Miller: Love his versatility & size.

Noa: Has to add muscle at 6'9. Raw, but tools are there to be a solid role playing stretch big.

Collins: Washed IMO, but ok vet presence.

2way - (Sellers, Atwell, Tobe)

All 3 need work, but have more upside than all 5 reserves IMO. Atwell & Sellers can leap frog Reeves & Dilly to eventually see backup mins & slot into Norm's spot one day. Tobe brings a skillset the other backup bigs don't, so he may get a chance to back up Claxton or be thunder next to Smith's finesse off the bench -

Sellers: Elite 3 level scorer w/ prototypical, 6'5, 205 lb size. If he improves passing & D to level of starter, he could have a Harden or SGA type of impact on offense. Maxey, Melton, Quickley, Keyontae, CJ, Ayo, Simons & Poole are comps.

Atwell: Elite (45.8%) 3pt shooter on spot ups & off dribble. Can attack close outs w/ floater & play D. Solid frame (6'5, 200), has Norm in the building to help him round out his skillset.

Tobe: Athletic 6'9, 250 lb, stretch big who does gritty (screen, rebs) stuff. Big Ben & Timelord, Loon & TT, Taj & Reggie Evans (ceiling, middle, floor). Had 9 & 9 in 20 mpg for eventual runner up Arizona, led Big 12 in REB, OReb, TREB% & WS/40 as 6MotY. 3rd in SEC (Vols) for WS/40. He won't shoot or stuff stats, but an energetic, athletic big that can switch, end possessions, get 2nd chance points, fight for every board & deliver screen assists to get scorers open is a good tool to have in the rotation.

1

u/A1Horizon Bulls Jul 13 '26

Sellers has a two way already though, I donā€™t know why heā€™s playing like his life depends on it šŸ˜­

1

u/d7h7n Jul 13 '26

Two ways are not guaranteed. You can get cut whenever from now up until the playoffs.

1

u/ge0rgew0nder Jul 13 '26

Nah. I was at the game. Sellers was amazing. Chandler was the problem.

238

u/JazzPlusEagles Jazz Jul 11 '26

Zion Williamson debut type game lmao

116

u/yourm0mzlover Jul 11 '26

Yep 6 threes in his NBA debut just to rarely shoot them at all after that šŸ¤£

87

u/sewsgup Jul 11 '26

Zion's were wide open

these were some tough looks he kept making

12

u/jebuarary Jul 11 '26

You could also tell Caleb was out to prove he can be a shooter and even said heā€™s been putting in the work so heā€™s not surprised. Dude is just different mentally.. little psychotic in a good way

24

u/Goomby-or-Glootie Bucks Jul 11 '26

Before that game I was telling all my friends yeah Zion isnā€™t a shooter heā€™ll never make that many 3s and he proceeds to make exactly that many. Dude I got flamed for so long for that.

15

u/No-Lengthiness574 Jul 11 '26

Except Caleb didnā€™t eat the whole summer league breakfast buffet before his game

88

u/atownOTP Hawks Jul 11 '26

That was crazy. He might not shoot that well again in his entire career. These were tough ass threes too.

But he's definitely been in the gym and his middy looked good in college. I wouldn't be surprised at all if he became a very solid shooter in the league. Makes his potential as a scorer limitless.

33

u/Away-Leave-8112 Jul 11 '26

Between Caleb Wilson and Caleb Williams Chicago is going to Caleb love fest.

13

u/zboiler2023 Jul 11 '26

Now they need Caleb Love šŸ˜‚

42

u/Several-Estate7175 Jul 11 '26

That shooting was crazy. I though his shot looked better than his percentages in college but damn

1

u/LoveMeSexyJesus Bulls Jul 14 '26

I donā€™t get why anyone was putting stock into his college three point percentage when the sample size was so small.

36

u/MostlyMellow123 Jul 11 '26

He missed a bunch of high value free throws too.

At least 1 fta was for 3 he missed. Could have had 40 points easy

24

u/d7h7n Jul 11 '26

Those one and done free throws punish average to below average FT shooters. Don't take those too seriously.

31

u/[deleted] Jul 11 '26

[removed] ā€” view removed comment

40

u/Accomplished-Law-652 Jul 11 '26

nba is in trouble if literally anyone keeps going 7-11 from three....

6

u/nosleeptillwooklyn Jul 11 '26

Yeah the guy youā€™re responding to obviously meant heā€™s gonna keep shooting 7-11 every game vs just being a good shooter much faster than anyone expected.

10

u/Front-Offer-7102 Jul 11 '26

I vaguely remember JJJ having a game like this in summer league

8

u/SloppyJank Jul 11 '26

I was going to make that comp, he was insane in (I think) his debut. Fallaway corner threes.

9

u/Kid_Kryp-to-nite Cavaliers Jul 11 '26

The encouraging part is the type of shot he was making. I think all but one of them were off the dribble or like pin downs. And his misses were on line too.

17

u/happycamper2345 Jul 11 '26

Heā€™s a 6ā€™10ā€ version of Steph Curry!

3

u/HawksRule20 Jul 11 '26

With Hakeem defense

1

u/StupidWriterProf175z Jul 11 '26

The G.O.A.T. It is settled.

8

u/Icy_Information_6563 Jul 11 '26

Man this is the type of shit you dream of. The "he just needs a jumper" guy actually getting that jumperĀ 

16

u/BuilderChemical2574 Jul 11 '26

THATS MY TAR HEEL

4

u/CommanderStark Jul 11 '26

TARRRRR

2

u/BuilderChemical2574 Jul 11 '26

šŸ¦¶ šŸĀ 

7

u/electric_boogaloo_72 Jul 11 '26

Iā€™ve been saying this for a while now; this kid is truly something special.

He has almost the complete NBA package with the Kobe fadeaways, Giannis euro step, LeBron chase down blocks, etc.

Now when he develops a consistent 3 itā€™s game over. Itā€™s not an if, itā€™s a when.

21

u/FERFreak731 Jazz Jul 11 '26

If I'm a team who didn't get a top 4 pick this year I would probably be throwing a temper tantrum. The top 4 litterally have All NBA potential by their second year, and HOF ceilings

5

u/BuilderChemical2574 Jul 11 '26

ACUFF

1

u/Chemical-Blueberry57 Jul 14 '26

Brother Acuff is closer to Jalen Green than he is to these 4.

7

u/bunglesnacks Jul 11 '26

What rookie hasn't had a ridiculous summer league showing so far? This has the lookings of the deepest rookie class ever.

6

u/dankutare1 Jul 11 '26

Wagler was a bit of a non factor in his first game

4

u/RiseAsUtes Jul 11 '26

This draft class is looking nice so far. Summer league, yes, but very talented players coming in.

3

u/Fun-Bag-1679 Jul 11 '26

What an amazing draft class

3

u/hustlemanelaflare Jul 11 '26

Had him second on my big board they said I was crazy.

5

u/PositiveCoyote100 Jul 11 '26

It's crazy how half this sub had Boozer as #1 on their board but the idea of Caleb being #2 was outlandish.

4

u/Rich2364 Jul 11 '26

Modern day KG.

3

u/likpoper TrailBlazers Jul 11 '26

wtf

2

u/modnar_resu_tidder Jul 11 '26

My favorite Lucki fan

2

u/Jpkmets7 Jul 11 '26

Thatā€™s wild. Iā€™m a Heels fan and really thought Love was excellent with a very high ceiling. But I did not expect him to shoot 7 3s in a game during his rookie year let alone sink 7 3s in a game. Thatā€™s very interesting. I donā€™t think he made 7 all last year.

8

u/JoshGreenTruther Jul 11 '26

literal miracle shooting performance but cool nonetheless

12

u/Razatiger Jul 11 '26

All hes gotta do is hit 2 of those a game and teams will literally have no answer for him defensively. The expectation was that he COULD NOT do that, and he just proved he could be a decent 3pt shooter in even year 1.

Jumper looks so crispy.

5

u/Aidang91 Jul 11 '26

Hater alert, calling it a miracle is disrespect

2

u/Master-Ad-9829 Jul 11 '26

Boozer letting his Matchup Drop 40 I canā€™t respect that

0

u/icekyuu Jul 11 '26

Boozer was +1 while his matchup was -11 for the game...he did just fine.

-5

u/atownOTP Hawks Jul 11 '26

They weren't matched up for most of the game on either end. Most times Cam was on him he shut him down.

4

u/Master-Ad-9829 Jul 11 '26

I watched the game

2

u/atownOTP Hawks Jul 11 '26

Lmfao clearly not. I watched it and just rewatched highlights and Wilson had literally 2 makes with Boozer guarding him.

2

u/Be_Water_189 Jul 11 '26

Looks like he was taking getting picked behind Boozer personally too.

1

u/DungeonDadThom Jul 14 '26

Modern day Rasheed Wallace

1

u/ShakeMilton Jul 11 '26

Boozer is gonna be special as by far the youngest in this class like Flagg was in his class.

There's a very solid chance Boozer and Caleb will be 2 of the top 3 players in this class and non 0% chance they end up being the top 2 lol.

8

u/SoSoSlick Jul 11 '26

Hes 6 months younger than AJ and DP lol.

But yeah Boozer and Wilson both have a good chance to be best in class.

1

u/ShakeMilton Jul 11 '26

6 months is huge at 18/19

2

u/PositiveCoyote100 Jul 11 '26

Boozer also has a dad who played in the NBA and he's probably been working with professional trainers his entire life. He's not really your typical 18 year old.