Caleb Wilson made the kind of Las Vegas debut that gets replayed all summer. The No. 4 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft dropped 35 points in his first Summer League game for the Chicago Bulls on July 10 – the most points ever scored by a player in his Las Vegas Summer League debut. He shot 12-for-21 from the field, 7-for-11 from three, and added 5 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 2 steals. The only problem: the Bulls lost anyway, 97-96, to the Memphis Grizzlies.
No. 3 pick Cameron Boozer had the last word for Memphis. But nobody in the building was talking much about the final score.
A number that stands alone
Thirty-five points in a Las Vegas Summer League debut – no player has ever done that before. The previous record had stood since the event launched in 2004. Wilson erased it in 40 minutes, shooting nearly 64 percent from deep on 11 attempts. That’s not luck. That’s a player who came in with something to prove.
Wilson, a 6-foot-8 combo forward out of the 2026 draft class, was the subject of debate heading into draft night. Some scouts questioned his handle at the next level; others pointed to his shooting efficiency in college as a sign he could contribute immediately. His Summer League opener settled nothing definitively – one game never does – but it gave Chicago’s front office a reason to feel good about the fourth pick.
What a loss can still tell you
The Bulls dropped 97-96 despite Wilson’s 35 points, which says something about roster construction and Summer League parity. But it also points to what Wilson still needs: teammates who can hold up around him, and a cleaner finish when the shots stop falling. He was 0-for-2 in the final two minutes of a one-point game.
Chicago has a project on their hands. Wilson’s ceiling is legitimate. The question, as it is for every Summer League standout, is what the regular-season lights reveal that Vegas didn’t.
Per Yahoo Sports and Bleacher Report.
Source: Yahoo Sports – Bleacher Report – NBA.com (July 10, 2026)
