Bulls' Claxton Talks Mentoring Caleb Wilson, Young Team Amid Tough Start

The Chicago Bulls are 1-7 through their first eight games of the 2026-27 season. It's the franchise's worst start to a season since 2004-05, when the Bulls began the year winless in their first nine games.

Help is on the way, though, in the form of Nic Claxton. The 27-year-old center isn't a one-size-fits-all solution to every problem Chicago has experienced so far, but adding a 6-foot-11 veteran to the frontcourt can't hurt what is currently the NBA's worst defense. Claxton has yet to play this season due to a hamstring injury he suffered during training camp, but could debut as soon as Sunday's matinee game against the 76ers.

Claxton also expects to give some much-needed juice to a young Bulls team that has been blown out in most of their games. The frustration of not playing well is already seeping through the cracks, and with 74 games remaining in the regular season, any kind of locker room splintering is the last thing that Chicago needs.

The veteran big man said he plans to bring fresh energy, swagger and intensity to the team in order to help get the Bulls back on track.

"I've been in situations where I've lost a lot of games in my career, throughout college, throughout the NBA," Claxton said following practice on Friday. "It sucks, but at the end of the day, we've all got a job to do. We all need to develop, get better. We've got a lot of young guys that are trying to figure a lot of things out, figure out their pockets and their spots. It's my job to help lead and guide them, and also take care of business in my own way."

In two seasons at the University of Georgia from 2017 to 2019, Claxton's Bulldogs went 29-36. Claxton was then a reliable winner upon being drafted by the Brooklyn Nets, playing alongside the likes of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden. Once the Nets traded away those stars, though, Claxton was surrounded by a roster worthy of the "rebuild" title. Over the past three seasons, Brooklyn went just 64-146 in games that Claxton played in.

Claxton was the young guy on those Durant/Irving/Harden-led teams. In Chicago, he's one of the veteran leaders for a youthful group trying to find its way.

That includes Caleb Wilson, the No. 4 overall pick in this summer's NBA Draft, who has taken the team's early losses to heart. The rookie power forward is already Chicago's leading scorer and is doing everything he can to make winning plays for the Bulls, but it hasn't been enough against a gauntlet of a schedule. Wilson has taken responsibility for the Bulls' rocky start, and it's clear that all of the losing is weighing on him.

That's something that Claxton can help with.

"Obviously, for somebody like Caleb, he's probably never lost before," Claxton said. "This is probably the most games he's lost consistently in his life, but he has the right mindset. Especially going forward with me being on the court, being able to just help him with certain things, especially on the defensive end and with the right spots, I think it'll be good."

Wilson led the North Carolina Tar Heels to a 19-5 record last winter before going down with a season-ending hand injury. He also powered Holy Innocents' Episcopal High School to a combined 53-11 record over his final two seasons, including a Georgia State Championship as a senior.

Claxton isn't a naturally vocal teacher. He prefers to mentor on the court by example, which he believes will be beneficial for players like Wilson and the other members of Chicago's frontcourt. Claxton sees himself being able to make an impact with his rim protection, as well as teaching the younger Bulls to communicate better and play smarter help defense.

The Bulls will await Claxton's potential Chicago debut on Sunday, when they host the 76ers at 2:30 p.m. CT.