Caleb Wilson Gets Bold About Potentially Historic 2026 Draft Class

Bulls rookie Caleb Wilson does not lack confidence. He told interviewers at the NBA Draft Combine that he would change the culture of the franchise that drafted him, then set his goal to become the greatest basketball player ever after Chicago picked him No. 4 overall.

Wilson talked the talk, then walked the walk at the Summer League in Las Vegas. The Bulls' top selection averaged 23.5 points per game while shooting a blistering 41.9% from beyond the arc, which landed him on the All-Summer League First Team.

The 2026 NBA Draft class is one of the most anticipated groups in recent history. AJ Dybantsa went No. 1 overall to the Washington Wizards, followed by Darryn Peterson to the Utah Jazz, Cameron Boozer to the Memphis Grizzlies and Wilson to the Bulls. All four are expected to make All-Star-level impacts on their respective teams, and several players taken outside the top four are promising talents as well.

Some analysts and prognosticators even believe that 2026 could be the best draft class in NBA history, surpassing legendary classes like 1996, 1984 and 2003. Wilson shares that sentiment, and when asked why, the rookie forward had a simple response:

"Because I'm in it."

This season is the 30th anniversary of the 1996 draft class, widely considered one of the best in league history, if not the best. It featured Hall-of-Famers like Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, Ray Allen and Steve Nash, along with Ben Wallace, who went undrafted. Add in All-Stars Stephon Marbury, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Peja Stojakovic, Antoine Walker, Jermaine O'Neal and Zydrunas Ilgauskas, and you've got an absolutely packed class full of players that defined the 2000s.

It's far too early to declare whether a rookie who has yet to play an NBA minute will be a Hall-of-Famer someday, but the 2026 draft class certainly appears to have the star power. Dybantsa, Peterson, Boozer and Wilson could very well be the next faces of the league. Behind them, players like No. 10 overall pick Brayden Burries (Bucks) and No. 11 overall pick Yaxel Lendeborg (Warriors) showed exactly what they can do in Summer League, and both project to have an immediate impact on their respective teams.

Wilson has also put a target on the backs of the three players drafted in front of him. He dropped 35 against Boozer's Grizzlies, 19 against the Peterson-less Jazz and 19 against the Dybantsa-less Wizards in Summer League, and he's let everyone know that he intends to show he's the best player in his class during his rookie season.