While it's been hard to look at anything the Chicago Bulls were putting on the court over the Arturas Karnisovas era, things are starting to gradually turn around. The 2026 NBA Draft, no matter how one slices it, was a massive win for Chicago. Caleb Wilson came to town with the No. 4 overall pick, while Draft Twitter darling Dailyn Swain landed at No. 15 overall.
In the span of a few hours, the Bulls landed a two-way dynamo who will be bullying people in the low post for the next 10 years and an ultra-talented wing that is one of the best in the Draft at getting to the rim. The Milwaukee Bucks also had two top 15 picks, but they weren't as effective.
The Bucks landed a combo guard with athleticism questions in Brayden Burries at No. 10 overall and a mystery man developmental lottery ticket in Nate Ament at No. 13 overall with a pick acquired in the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade. Even the most diehard Bucks fan will need to concede that Chicago crushed it.
Bulls' dominant 2026 NBA Draft has to get Bucks fans worried
Wilson is going to be an immediate starter at the power forward position alongside Matas Buzelis and the recently acquired Nic Claxton at center. While not dominant, especially after Claxton regressed in the 2025-26 season, it gives both Wilson and Buzelis the diet of shots needed to keep improving.
Swain will likely start the season as a bench gunner who can eventually move into the starting lineup. Swain might not be the most natural 2-guard in the world, but he is a more consistent jump shot away from emerging as a quality athlete with room to grow into a slashing playmaker.
The Bucks, meanwhile, used two lottery picks on players with major questions as they kickstart their post-Giannis life. Burries lacks the elite athleticism needed to be a dominant guard right out of the gate, and Ament is a 6-10 player who shot under 40% on two-point attempts for most of his lone college season. Ament is a complete project.
The Bulls might be at the beginning of a long rebuild, as Wilson first needs to prove he can eventually evolve into a No. 1 option at the NBA level, buy Bryson Graham is putting together a team that could turn things around sooner rather than later, and this Draft may have mas much to do with that optimism as anything.
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