Caleb Wilson scores 30 with 14 rebounds in the Bulls’ home opener, and only Michael Jordan scored more through three games

Caleb Wilson put up 30 points and 14 rebounds in the Chicago Bulls’ home opener on Saturday, October 24, the first double-double of his NBA career. Chicago still lost 124-120 to the Washington Wizards. Wilson now has 67 points in three games, and the league noted that the only Bull to score more in his first three games was Michael Jordan, with 74.

The game said a lot about how far the No. 4 pick has come in four days. In his debut in Toronto on Wednesday he scored 16 points on 7-of-21 shooting and committed nine turnovers in a 135-92 loss. Against Washington he played 38 minutes without a turnover.

Comeback falls short.

Caleb Wilson: 30 pts, 14 reb
Matas Buzelis: 21 pts, 5 reb
Norman Powell: 18 pts, 4 stl pic.twitter.com/CwvQZKkZar

— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) October 25, 2026

From nine turnovers to none

After the debut, the Bulls shared Wilson’s view of that night. He said he would learn from it and get better, and added, “I don’t beat myself up.” His growth, he said, would come with patience: “It’s going to happen over time.”

So far it has taken one game at a time. Wilson had 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting in Friday’s 132-125 win in Milwaukee and made his free throws in the closing minutes. On Saturday he went 10-of-24 from the field and 9-of-11 at the line, with 3 assists, 2 steals and a block. Most of his damage came near the rim, including a tomahawk dunk in the first half, and he had 17 points by halftime.

His jumper has not followed yet. He went 1-of-9 from three against Washington and is 3-of-15 from deep through three games. For all three games he is 24-of-59 from the field, averaging 22.3 points.

A plus-14 in a loss

Chicago was 14 points better than Washington in Wilson’s minutes, tied with Washington’s Kyshawn George for the second-best mark in the game behind Justin Champagnie’s plus-18. The Bulls led by as many as 10 before a third quarter Washington won 40-20, and the Wizards’ lead later reached 21. The Bulls cut it to one possession in the fourth, helped by back-to-back threes from Wilson and Matas Buzelis, who scored 21. Trae Young led Washington with 25 points and 9 assists.

Chicago played without Noa Essengue (head contusion) and Patrick Williams (groin). The full box score is on the Wizards-Bulls Game Center, and Wilson’s game log is on his player page.

What comes next

The 1-2 Bulls play at the Boston Celtics on Monday, October 26, at 7:30 p.m. ET, the first of three games for Chicago in the league’s second week. Follow it on the Bulls-Celtics Game Center, and see the rest of the roster on the Bulls team page.