Six games into his NBA career, Chicago Bulls forward Caleb Wilson is delivering on the promise of his much hyped talent. Averaging 21.2 points per game, 6.7 rebounds per game, 1.7 steals per game, and 1.5 blocks per game, Wilson is making his impact undeniable.
To be fair, Wilson needs to work on his shooting (41.7% FG) and presumably his handle (2.8 turnovers per game) if he is to function as a primary creator for the Bulls.
With Wilson establishing himself as the clear alpha of the Bulls roster, the logical Bulls co-star, of course, is forward Matas Buzelis, right? Right? RIGHT?
Fine, it’s box score baron Josh Giddey, correct? No? Then who is Caleb Wilson’s co-star, mate?
That’s right, you guessed it, Norman Powell.
Through six games, the 2026 NBA offseason marquee veteran addition to the Chicago Bulls has presumably done all the nice vet locker room stuff that makes for great media talking points in press conferences and sideline reports.
However, Powell is clearly making his impact visible in high-functioning ways that Bulls fans would have expected to see at the start of Matas Buzelis’ third-year NBA campaign, and to a lesser degree, the sixth year of Giddey’s polarizing style of play.
The Chicago Bulls, also featuring Norman Powell
Powell has proven to be the Bulls player who is simply the most reliable scoring option after Caleb Wilson. In Powell’s first six regular-season games with the Bulls, he is averaging 20.7 points per game and posting a healthy 61.2% true shooting percentage, according to Basketball Reference.
What pops even more in Powell’s first six Bulls games is his prolific 8.5 free-throw attempts per game, which, without a doubt, is a major driver behind the Bulls' league-leading 38.3% free-throw attempt rate.
On the defensive side, it’s important to emphasize that the Chicago Bulls, within a team context, are a pitiful defensive basketball team. Despite that circumstance, Powell provides a respectable level of defensive playmaking, averaging 1.8 steals per game.
Powell is doing his job, a short-term job
Norman Powell, out of necessity, is scoring by any means necessary and doing his best to set a defensive example for a young Bulls roster, but it’s concerning that he’s the second-best Bulls player on the roster and not someone like Buzelis or Giddey. Powell, of course, is 33 years old, while Caleb Wilson is a ripe 20 years old.
Caleb Wilson sooner rather than later needs a co-star on his timeline. Beyond age, it would also be great if the Bulls added size around Wilson to raise the bar on the Bulls' weak defense and make life easier for Wilson by getting stops that create more transition scoring opportunities for an athlete like Wilson.
Again, Powell is doing a job, and the Bulls front office needs to do its job and make sure it isn’t getting too comfortable with Norman Powell’s presence on the Bulls roster, especially when the 2027 NBA trade deadline arrives.
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