Bulls' Matas Buzelis Says Caleb Wilson Already "Feels Like My Brother"

Chicago Bulls fans were already excited for the 2026-27 NBA season with a new front office and a lot of new faces around. But the excitement of Bulls Nation had to hit an all-time off-season high following Matas Buzelis' words at a recent training camp interview. 

At Wednesday's practice, Buzelis was interviewed, speaking on his budding friendship with No. 4 overall pick Caleb Wilson. 

Of course, Bulls fans know better than anyone that players don't need to be best friends for a team to be successful and win championships.

But it can certainly help, and is certainly more important in the modern NBA where big contracts are being handed out and feelings get hurt quickly--like the ongoing Jalen Duren vs. Detroit Pistons saga--by players with massive financial expectations. That is why hearing Buzelis--even if it was a case of him just trying to 'say the right thing'--speak so fondly of Wilson is encouraging. 

In a clip posted on X/Twitter by Will Gottlieb of CHGO, Buzelis states "he feels like my brother, bro. It's like my twin." 

Buzelis went on to say of Wilson, "sometimes you just meet people you can just connect very easily and that's [Wilson] one of them."

While it is very easy to blow off Buzelis words as pure coach speak, his actions have certainly backed up his words. Wilson and Buzelis have been seen together all off-season at multiple events including a Chicago Cubs game with Bears QB Caleb Williams. 

The two young forwards are the future of the Bulls, and offer the size and positional versatility to compete at the highest level of the modern NBA. There is much time for their relationship to grow, but a lack of animosity between the two allows their friendship to be rooted in the work rather than fame. 

If the Bulls are to become anywhere near a winning-franchise within the next five years, it will likely be due to their pair of rim-running, shot-blocking and floor-spacing wings in Buzelis and Wilson. 

The biggest hurdle to the Bulls hitting their ceiling within the framework of a Wilson-Buzelis-led team is one of the two rejecting the idea of being a secondary scoring option.

In the Bulls potentially up-tempo offense, there will be plenty of shot attempts to go around but someone will obviously be scoring option No. 1 and/or the go-to guy in clutch-time. Despite this being a fair and reasonable concern, both Buzelis and Wilson reject the idea and look to have intense focus on the improvement of the Bulls as a unit. 

Buzelis even went as far as to respond to the X/Twitter account of Chicago sports radio station 104.3 The Score when they brought up the idea of Buzelis making a leap vs. becoming a clear-cut second option behind Wilson. He responded with the message "it's a TEAM sport love...we all gonna shine." 

The idea of "who's the man in charge on the court," matters a lot to fans and media (present company included) but does not necessarily translate to the players who individually understand both how talented they are and the amount of teamwork needed to compete at the highest level. The fact that the 21-year old Buzelis and 20-year old Wilson understand this means the Chicago Bulls franchise is in great hands.