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NBA Legend Has High Praise for Bulls Rookie Caleb Wilson
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- NBA Legend Has High Praise for Bulls Rookie Caleb Wilson
It's been far from an ideal start for the 1-6 Chicago Bulls , but there has been plenty to like each night when watching rookie forward Caleb Wilson take the floor.
The fourth overall pick out of North Carolina has come out of the gates blazing, averaging 21.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 2.0 steals, and 1.3 blocks in his first seven NBA games. Wilson has recorded at least 15 points and one steal in each of these contests, which marks the longest streak to start a career since fellow Tar Heel and Bull Michael Jordan did it in 1984 (via OptaSTATS ).
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Wilson's historic start has drawn the attention of another NBA great, Dwayne Wade, who believes the 20-year-old has the perfect personality to develop into a star.
Wade discussed this in a podcast appearance for Wy Network , explaining that Wilson's "dog mentality" has stood out through the first seven games of his career.
"[He's] probably a nice kid away from the game of basketball," Wade said. "When he's on that court, when he steps between them lines, he got that dog mentality... that's what you want, you want that from your main guy."
Wade continued, offering quite the comparison for what Wilson could become.
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"He reminds me of Kevin Garnett," he said. "He got that KG aura about him."
Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images
Wade went on to explain that what he likes most about Wilson so far is that despite the fact that certain parts of his game haven't quite clicked yet, he continues to do all the little things well.
"His activity, his defensive rebounding, his slashing, his cutting, just the assertiveness to his game."
Wilson's ability to shoot the three-ball consistently was considered to be one of the biggest areas for growth in his game coming out of college. After starting the season 5-of-28 (17.9%) from behind the arc through four games, he has gone 13-of-28 (46.6) in the last three games to bring his season average up to 32.1% (via Roundtable's Gavin Dorsey ).
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On top of the improved shooting splits, Wilson has leaned on his incredible athleticism to get downhill and pressure the rim early on. He has also shown a savviness beyond his years to get buckets off of inbound plays and in transition. His nose for the ball and defensive versatility allows him to impact the game even if his shot isn't falling right away.
While things haven't been pretty for the Bulls this season, Wilson's impressive start is just what fans were looking for after the team selected him with the fourth overall pick. For as good as he has looked, perhaps the most exciting part is how much room there is for growth in his game. Once it all comes together, as Wade points out, the Bulls could be looking at the league's next big star.
