The Chicago Bulls took an interesting roll of the dice when they selected Dailyn Swain with the No. 15 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. There's a good chance he'll struggle as a rookie — but that doesn't mean he can't eventually be an organizational cornerstone.
Swain starred during his junior season at Texas, averaging 17.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.6 steals on his way to being named Second Team All-SEC.
But his college career didn't follow a linear path.
Like his off-the-dribble skill set, his three seasons between Xavier and Austin featured some stops and starts. And there's a good chance his NBA career follows a similar trajectory, which means he probably won't be playing 30 minutes per game and making an All-Rookie team.
But he's uniquely talented, and there's a reason this front office deemed him worthy of a top-15 pick in a loaded draft.
Bulls guard Dailyn Swain could struggle as a rookie
Swain uses a rare combination of size and ball-handling ability to bully his way through and around defenders. He's a crafty finisher and has a knack for drawing fouls. At 6-foot-7 and 210 pounds, the 20-year-old is less a wing and more a jumbo combo guard.
Couple that with some athleticism and defensive upside, and you don't need to squint to see an important starter on a playoff contender.
Bulls head coach Tiago Splitter immediately threw Swain into the fire as his team's starting point guard during summer league.
It did not go well.
The Ohio native made four total field goals (4-for-31, 12.9 percent), missed all seven of his 3-point tries, committed seven turnovers and finished his four games in Vegas as a -18. For a player who relies so heavily on getting to the foul line, Swain averaged fewer than two free-throw attempts per game and shot just 71.4 percent from the stripe.
But nobody's worried in Chicago.
Swain is already a different player heading into training camp
Take it from fellow rookie Caleb Wilson, who, unlike Swain, should have himself squarely in the Rookie of the Year conversation this season. Per Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, Wilson said:
""Dailyn looks way better. We were here (in Chicago right after Las Vegas). We’ve been here the whole summer. We’ve been grinding here. Seeing him every day, seeing him working on the things he needs to work on.""Caleb Wilson on teammate Dailyn Swain
Or from Splitter, who told Cowley there's a "night and day" difference between this Swain and the one who struggled at summer league:
""He was not himself in Summer League and I think we all understand that. ... I think he lacked confidence in the Summer League but right now he’s a different player. He’s being aggressive, being himself, being the player he was in college.""Bulls head coach Tiago Splitter
Swain was a member of the Big East All-Freshman team in 2023-24 with the Musketeers. He made a jump the next season and then decided that a move to the SEC with coach Sean Miller was the next logical step. Then he broke out on the national stage with the Longhorns and became a first-round pick. He was hardly a one-and-done, sure-fire superstar like plenty of lottery selections before him.
But Splitter put it all into perspective as to why the organization is so high on Swain, and why it's willing to let him develop at his own pace.
"If you check his history everywhere he’s gone, he’s taken some time to get adjusted to a level, to the team he played on," Splitter said via Cowley. "It happened in college, we talked to his coaches, and he’s just going to take some time to adapt.
"Once he’s acclimated and confident, he’s a different player, and that’s what we expect."
Add us as a preferred source on Google