LAS VEGAS – Dailyn Swain knew very little about Caleb Wilson before they became teammates on NBA Draft Night ’26 last month.
He quickly realized how much he would like him, however.
That’s because Swain – drafted No. 15 overall – is a worker. Wilson? He’s a maniac.
The fact that Wilson dropped 35 points in his Summer League debut on Friday night? Swain knew something was coming.
“He’s a confident player,” Swain said of Wilson. “I always talk about how hard he works and I just met him, so if he’s putting that impression on me and we just got together a few weeks ago, you can tell he’s (had this mentality) for a long time. All he talks about is getting better. The fist time I met him, after I got drafted and came around, we shook hands and he was like, ‘Let’s get ready to play.’
“That’s what he wants to do. He’s special. He knows what he can do. Even when he plays bad, he’s going to play hard. (His debut) was not surprising to us because we see his habits.”
And now the rest of the league got a sneak preview.
Not only did Wilson go 7-of-11 from three – the supposed knock on his game coming out of North Carolina – but backed up his tough talk about wanting to outplay the rest of the ’26 rookie draft class. That started against Memphis on Friday and No. 3 pick Cameron Boozer (Wilson went No. 4).
“I mean Caleb is hunting everybody,” Swain said. “He won’t say it enough, but we can see it in his mentality, pre-game, during the game, like he’s hunting these guys. He works so hard. I’m not surprised by it. Guys like him are just like that.”
As for Swain, well, better days ahead.
New head coach Tiago Splitter – who wanted to coach the first few Summer League games and set a tone – threw Swain into the fire by starting him off as the primary ball-handler against a Memphis team that was throwing a few second-year NBA players out there, including All-Rookie First Teamer Cedric Coward.
It was rough.
They did get Swain off the ball in the second half and he did play with a bit more freedom, but his vaunted first-step attack in college didn’t exactly translate to the big-boy league yet and he did go 0-for-3 from three-point range (3-for-10 from the field).
Call it jitters, some fatigue, and hopefully more opportunity.
“Right now is a time for mistakes, a time for growth,” Swain said. (Splitter’s) throwing me in the fire. He’s giving me something new for when the real time comes, I’m prepared for it.”
Early impression
The new-look Bulls got a preview of Splitter’s coaching chops on Friday and gave good reviews. Splitter, who was hired last month, wanted to coach the first few Summer League games before passing it off to an assistant.
“He’s always intense, he’s always passionate about the game,” Swain said. “He was a player, so like he did all this stuff before. He was always motivating, never like ‘C’mon guys.’ You can see how much he loves the game so it was easy to go out there and give your all for a coach like that.
“He played for the Spurs, he played for Coach Pop (the Spurs’ Gregg Popovich), so his defensive details, that’s one thing he’ll get on you about. He wants to win and he was always a winner.”
Vet crew
The young Bulls had some true fans sitting courtside in the Friday debut, as team veterans like recently-signed Norman Powell joined Josh Giddey, Matas Buzelis, Tre Jones, Jalen Smith, Isaac Okoro, and Rob Dillingham in the expensive seats.