Caleb Wilson struggles in Bulls’ worst opening-night defeat

Caleb Wilson absorbed a brutal welcome to the professional ranks on Wednesday night. Selected fourth overall in the recent NBA Draft, the 20-year-old rookie endured a harsh regular-season debut for the Chicago Bulls in a 135-92 blowout loss against the Toronto Raptors. The local press was harsh on the team, noting they were corrected right from the start for their opening game on the Raptors’ floor, while the Chicago Sun-Times declared that the reconstruction is turning into a demolition site. This 43-point reversal marked the worst opening-night defeat in the history of the franchise.

A Clean Block Sets a Physical Tone

It immediately set the tone for an unforgiving evening against a physical Raptors defense, with head coach Tiago Splitter also highlighting the physical presence embodied by Leonard and Scottie Barnes against an inexperienced Wilson and Matas Buzelis duo.

Defensive Pressure Forces Rookie into Nine Turnovers

Active hands clogged passing lanes all night. The rookie struggled against compact coverages as defensive pressure forced him into persistent handling errors, noting that everything was more crowded and that opponents always had their hands ready to disrupt passes.

Those troubles culminated in his ninth turnover late in the fourth quarter when three or even four Canadians encircled him near the perimeter while he was dribbling too much and almost in place. Chicago head coach Tiago Splitter noted after the game that his young forward too often found himself trapped without an outlet with two or three players on him, and pointed out that his player committed almost as many turnovers on his own as the entire opposing team, which had 10.

Wilson Struggles with Scoring and Shooting Rhythm

Beyond his troubles handling the ball, Wilson found little rhythm as a scorer. He finished with 16 points in 32 minutes of action, shooting 7-for-21 from the field, while noting that he managed to penetrate the paint quite often but really could not manage to put a shot in and doubts that this will happen regularly.

From beyond the arc, he converted just 1 of 8 attempts from 3-point range, and his shooting woes also extended to free throws where he shot 50%. His shooting woes extended inside, highlighted by a fast-break sequence where he beat Scottie Barnes down the court only to lose control of the ball off his own leg before attempting a shot. His overall statistical line also included 4 total rebounds, with 1 offensive and 3 defensive rebounds, alongside 3 assists, 3 personal fouls, 1 interception, and 1 block.

When the final buzzer sounded, Wilson had registered a game-worst -45 rating while on the court. It compounded a night where the entire Bulls team committed 27 turnovers, raising concerns from the coach about the team picking up bad habits.

Splitter Urges Patience After the Blowout

Addressing the media after the 43-point defeat, Splitter acknowledged that the rookie entered the matchup carrying heavy mental burdens. These ranged from the sheer weight of his first NBA appearance to absorbing the team’s offensive and defensive schemes, prompting the coach to state that he wants to see him take pleasure in playing. Wilson attributed part of the waste to a lack of communication and mentioned that he will learn a lot by watching the video.

Wilson Views Rough Start as Part of Learning

Reflecting on the rough start, Wilson expressed a desire to leave the performance behind and move on to the next match. Cela fait partie de l’apprentissage : ne jamais s’enflammer, ne jamais trop se laisser abattre, he said, recalling that during his Draft he stated he wanted to do better than Michael Jordan. His individual box score for the 2026-27 season across 1 minute and 32.5 seconds—listed under games played as 1 match—records his opening percentages and tallies as part of his early professional record.