Bulls Target Caleb Wilson Makes Surprising Comparison to 7x All-Star

With the No. 4 overall pick in this month's NBA Draft, the Chicago Bulls appear to be zeroing in on North Carolina forward Caleb Wilson.

The 6-foot-9 big man is an intriguing prospect with a ceiling that many analysts are calling "limitless." In his lone season in Chapel Hill, Wilson averaged 19.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.4 blocks per game as a vicious player who dominated on both ends of the floor.

Wilson's length and versatility have earned him comparisons to Hall of Fame big men like Kevin Garnett, who won one MVP, one NBA Championship and was named an All-Star 15 times. However, Wilson has a different comparison for himself as a player that has not been commonly mentioned by prognosticators and scouts leading up to the draft.

Prior to attending Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks as a Player Correspondent for the league, Wilson told Enjoy BBall's Kenny Beecham that he views Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard as the athlete whose playstyle most similarly reflects his own.

"I would definitely say something like Kawhi, honestly," Wilson said. "I feel like I'm a two-way player. I can do it all. Whatever you need me to do, I can get it done."

Leonard, who turns 35 at the end of the month, is well on track to earn a Hall of Fame selection of his own. Since being drafted 15th overall in 2011, Leonard has been named to an All-Star and All-NBA team seven times each, led his team to two titles and won two Defensive Player of the Year Awards. He was awarded Finals MVP honors in 2014 and 2019 for the Spurs and Toronto Raptors, respectively.

While certainly a talented player — and one whose career Wilson should aim to emulate — Leonard's physical profile differs from that of the former UNC forward. Leonard is a sturdy 6-foot-6 perimeter player who can guard 1-through-4. Comparatively, Wilson is a slender 6-foot-9 barefoot and 6-foot-10 at his playing height, and also weighs 15 pounds less than Leonard, despite being over three inches taller.

Wilson also projects as a post player that will likely guard centers and large forwards. Leonard's combination of size and strength makes him uniquely positioned to defend nearly any player that challenges him. It's difficult to imagine Wilson navigating a switch to prevent a speedy, undersized guard from scoring, as Leonard could.

The two players may vary in physical attributes, but Wilson's ability to be versatile and shifty at his height is what makes him so desirable with a top-five NBA Draft pick. He likely studied Leonard's game to improve his own, and it makes sense that a defensive monster like Wilson would like to add as many skills as possible to his repertoire.

Wilson will find out whether he will join the Bulls on June 23. He and Matas Buzelis would give Chicago a fearsome frontcourt of lengthy two-way players.

"I'm excited," Wilson said. "Of course, I'm anxious; you never know where you're going to go. You can always hope for a team, but you really have no control. I'm just really excited for this opportunity, and at the end of the day, it's been a dream of mine. I can't wait to be there."