The Cam Boozer vs Caleb Wilson debate just took its first real swing, and Wilson landed it clean.
Wilson, the No. 4 pick by the Chicago Bulls, dropped 35 points on Friday night against Boozer and the Memphis Grizzlies at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. That is the most points scored in an NBA Summer League debut in league history. He also stuffed the stat sheet with 5 rebounds, 2 steals, and 3 blocks, going 12-of-21 from the field and drilling seven three-pointers.
The wild part is Wilson could not care less about the record.
“We lost,” Wilson said after the 97-96 defeat, wearing the kind of stone face that tells you everything about how he actually feels.
He kept going. “That’s my goal. To come here and win. Of course, it’s cool [to break the record]. But somebody’s going to break it one day, like they always do. I’m happy that I got the record, and I’m ready to move on to what’s next. We’ve got another game coming up soon.”
Chicago Bulls fans just fell in love. That is a franchise starved for a competitive killer at the top of the draft, and they might have finally gotten one.
Wilson hit seven threes as a listed 6-foot-10 forward. If that shooting is real at the NBA level, the Bulls have their offensive centerpiece for the next decade. He also blocked shots and got steals in the same game, which is how you know the two-way potential is more than a scouting cliche.
Boozer, the No. 3 pick by the Grizzlies, did not lay down. He scored 23 points on 12 shots with 6 rebounds and 4 assists. That is the exact profile the Grizzlies drafted. Efficient, smart, rebounding, playmaking from a big. Nobody is worried about Boozer at all.
The two are going to be linked forever. Duke product Boozer went one pick ahead of North Carolina product Wilson, and every summer league, every preseason, every regular season game they play against each other is going to feel like a mini rivalry moment. Two-time college champion versus one-and-done freshman with the athletic upside.
Friday was round one. Wilson took it in points but lost on the scoreboard. He was more upset about the second thing.
The Bulls have not felt fun in a long time. Caleb Wilson just made them appointment viewing at Vegas Summer League, and the pattern is only going to continue from here.
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.
