Bill Simmons Compares Bulls Rookie Caleb Wilson to Tracy McGrady: Is He Overrating Him?
Bill Simmons is at it again.
On his latest podcast, Simmons dropped a Tracy McGrady comparison on Chicago Bulls rookie Caleb Wilson after watching Wilson dominate Las Vegas Summer League. Simmons said Wilson looked “very TMac-ish,” pointed to the shooting range for a player his size, and even threw in a Shawn Kemp side dish for good measure.
If your jaw is on the floor, you are not alone.
Tracy McGrady is a Hall of Fame two-guard who put together a stretch from 2001 to 2008 that ranks among the most impressive offensive runs of the century. He averaged 32 points a game for a full season. He scored 13 points in 33 seconds. He was one of the most talented perimeter scorers in NBA history. Comparing anyone to McGrady is a heat check. Comparing a rookie who just wrapped up Summer League to McGrady is a full-blown Bill Simmons special.
Here is the thing though. Simmons is not entirely wrong.
Wilson lit up Summer League. He averaged 23.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks. He shot 42 percent from three. He was drafted fourth overall out of North Carolina after showing the perimeter skill package that made scouts nervous about upside versus polish. The Bulls picked him fourth because they saw the size, the shooting, the shot blocking, and the ball handling that scream modern NBA superstar template.
But TMac? Come on.
McGrady at his peak was a 6-foot-8 wing who created his own shot at will and finished at the rim with the kind of body control that only shows up once a generation. Wilson is closer to 6-foot-10 with a wing body, which is impressive. He is also a rookie who has played exactly zero NBA games that count. Slapping McGrady on him is the kind of thing you say when you want to generate a headline, and Simmons knows exactly what he is doing.
That does not mean Wilson is a bad prospect. He is a very good prospect. If you told me in three years he becomes a 20-and-8 guy with legitimate All-Star appearances, I would nod and say that tracks. If you told me he becomes McGrady, I would ask you to touch grass.
Simmons has a long history of these big swings. He has been early on stars before. He has also been early on some bust cycles that aged like milk. The McGrady comp is the kind of thing that goes viral, ages either into a legendary call or a career-long punchline, and either way keeps Bill Simmons in the middle of the conversation. That is the job.
The bigger point is the Bulls. Chicago has been stuck in mediocrity for years. They finally got a top-five pick, they hit on him, and now their fans have a legitimate reason to care again. Wilson is going to be must-watch television during his rookie year. That alone is a win for a franchise that has been coasting on Michael Jordan nostalgia for two decades.
If Wilson ends up as a poor man’s McGrady, meaning a legitimate top-25 player with All-Star bids, the Bulls made a franchise altering pick. That is a reasonable outcome. Anything closer to the real McGrady is fantasy.
Simmons is overrating him. But he is overrating him because Wilson is actually good enough to be overrated. That is the highest compliment a young player can get in July.
Take the under on TMac. Take the over on the Bulls being fun again.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
