The Caleb Wilson hype train pulled out of the Las Vegas station last month after the Bulls rookie was must-see-TV in every Summer League game he played in.
It has been four weeks, and that locomotive really hasn’t slowed down.
It started right after the Bulls left Las Vegas and podcaster/media entrepreneur Bill Simmons went on his show to give his take on what he saw from Wilson.
“I was on the record saying I thought Caleb Wilson was the most undervalued guy at the draft, even at No. 4,” Simmons said. “I think there was a real case to just trade back, and he might be the best player anyway, which I don’t even normally feel that way with a draft. And he comes in [to Summer League] and he hits a three. I’ve got to say, we’re a little older than [other hosts on his show], but he looked very T-Mac-ish to me.”
Simmons wasn’t close to done even with the comparison to former NBA standout Tracy McGrady.
“That was the one that jumped out to me. I was like, ‘This is like watching T-Mac again.’ Like, he’s taller; he’s, like, 6-10, but same kind of skinny, inside-outside. But then is adding this explosive Shawn Kemp side, too.
“If I was a Bulls fan, I would have no sperm left in my body. I would lose my mind.”
OK, maybe a take gone a bit to the wild side, but point made.
McGrady wasn’t the only comparison, either. There have been a few Pascal Siakam comps, the Kemp comps have been out there since last season at North Carolina when Wilson was dunking anything not nailed to the hardwood, and then there’s the Kevin Garnett comparison.
It’s a lofty one, considering the Hall of Fame career of the ‘‘Big Ticket,’’ but one that grew legs when Warriors great Draymond Green said, “I actually think that Caleb Wilson will be the most special of the group. He’s so good, and I think he’s still clumsy. I think he still can’t walk and chew gum at the same time, and yet he’s already that good right now. So if that guy is still clumsy and he’s that good right now, what happens when he continues to grow into his body and he ain’t clumsy no more? I saw people saying his floor was Paul Millsap, his ceiling was Kevin Garnett. No disrespect to KG, KG is probably top three of power forwards we’ve ever seen in our lifetime. Now, obviously you gotta do the work, and he ain’t gonna walk in like this, but the type of talent he is, I actually think his floor is Kevin Garnett.”
Garnett wanted to check out the hype, pulling up in person to Wilson’s last Summer League game, not only leaving it impressed and giving a stamp of approval, but embracing the comparison enough to dub Wilson “Little Ticket.”
It was praise that Wilson was honored to receive, but he responded with: “I just have expectations of being Caleb Wilson.”
Since Vegas ended, however, the hype hasn’t. Wilson and Matas Buzelis turned heads when they showed up on a loaded team for a South Side pro-am run a few weeks back, and then there’s Wilson’s collectible cards — the closest thing to the stock exchange for individual athletes — which have doubled in value since Summer League and are highly sought after.
The next test for the rookie?
Bulls veterans will start filing into town — if they haven’t already — for open runs at the Advocate Center. Highlights always leak out. That’s good news for Wilson because he can’t help but be a highlight.