From players exceeding, meeting and falling short of expectations. Here are the NBA summer league report cards the Bulls should deliver to five of their key young players on the roster.
But remember, it is more important to judge them based on their regular-season production. These performances don't decide the 2026-27 seasons these players will have.
1. Caleb Wilson, A+
With Wilson, the expectation was to see improvement from beyond the arc and a strong offensive and defensive presence.
Fans got to see Wilson suit up in four summer league games, a good sample size to look at.
In those four games, Wilson averaged 23.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 1.3 steals per game. These are impressive stat lines by the rookie.
What makes this more incredible is that he put up those averages while shooting 50% from the field and 41.9% from beyond the arc.
Wilson showed that against other rookies and younger NBA players, he can continue to thrive on offense. It is important that he showed his offensive efficiency, especially from 3-point range.
3-point shooting was an area of his game that needed improvement in the offseason, and it appears he has done so.
2. Jaylin Sellers, A-
Sellers signed with the Bulls on a two-way contract. For Sellers, summer league needed to feature a strong offensive outing, especially from 3-point range. Defensive contribution was ideal as well.
In five summer league games, Sellers put up 15.6 points per game to go along with 2.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.6 steals.
Sellers put up a strong summer league performance, showing that he can have high offensive production and contribute on the defensive end.
He made a case to receive minutes in the regular season. Albeit his shooting could have been better, particularly from 3-point range, to make his case even stronger. He shot 39.3% from the field and 23.7% from three.
3. Tobe Awaka, B+
Awaka, like Sellers, signed with the Bulls on a two-way contract.
With the Bulls acquiring Nic Claxton via trade, they didn't need any eye-popping stats from him. He just needed to show that he deserves to be in the rotation in some capacity. Primarily, he needed to do so from a rebounding and defensive perspective.
Awaka did just that with 6.6 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game in five summer league games. He also shot 77.8% from the field. If he can shoot well in the regular season and contribute on the glass and defensive end, that would be ideal.
If he had a higher scoring contribution than 6.8 points per game, - like around 10 points - Awaka would have been in the A range.
4. Noa Essengue, C
Essengue had a good field goal percentage (43.8%) and defensive production (1.3 steals and 1.8 blocks per game).
For someone coming off a season-ending injury, fans just needed to see at least a few bright spots. With these numbers, fans did see this.
However, for a first-round draft pick, it would be better to have seen better summer league outings from Essengue.
5. Dailyn Swain, C-
Swain struggled in summer league. He averaged 4.3 points, five rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. He shot just 12.9% from the field and 0% from beyond the arc.
Swain should have had a better outing, and it is certaintly not ideal for Bulls fans to see this performance.
Preferably, Swain would have put up similar numbers to his last collegiate season; he would have shot the ball really well from the field and put up a double-digit scoring average.
With Swain, fans can - and should - have higher expectations for him than Essengue, which is why he received this grade and rank.
But remember, with Norman Powell added in free agency, he has the time and opportunity to develop his game.
However, as noted earlier, summer league isn't the end-all, be-all. It is more important to judge him, and all these players, based on their regular-season performances.
Add us as a preferred source on Google