“Dude, you just don’t stop.” Draymond Green said that after catching LeBron James mid-workout during a Cabo vacation. His new Philadelphia 76ers teammates are learning that same lesson this offseason. But this week, an unexpected rookie from a rival Eastern Conference team joined the workout, stirring up an old prediction that got him mocked earlier this year.
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That rookie is Chicago Bulls forward Caleb Wilson, the fourth overall pick, already making believers out of people around the league. Even before the draft, Green went out on a limb with a bold Kevin Garnett comparison, and the basketball world pushed back hard. Now Wilson is training with James, and Garnett himself is calling him “Little Ticket.” So, the Warriors star has plenty of reason to revisit what he saw all along.
“Wait so KG said he’s little ticket,” Green wrote on Threads. “But when I said his floor should be KG if he stays locked in and don’t get distracted, everybody said I’m crazy huh?”
The four-time NBA champion called Wilson “the most special” of the 2026 rookie class. He took the application to the next level by putting Wilson’s name next to Kevin Garnett’s. Green later admitted he got called an idiot for it. The comparison came before the draft.
“I saw people saying his floor was Paul Millsap, his ceiling was Kevin Garnett. No disrespect to KG, KG is probably top three of power forwards we’ve ever seen in our lifetime. Now, obviously you gotta do the work, and he ain’t gonna walk in like this, but the type of talent he is, I actually think his floor is Kevin Garnett.”
A 6-foot-10 forward who played one season at North Carolina, Wilson showed enough in his one-and-done campaign to convince Chicago he was worth the fourth pick. He averaged 19.8 points and 9.4 rebounds, flashing the combination of size, athleticism and offensive skill that made him one of the most intriguing prospects in the class.
Then in July, Draymond Green would double down on his praise.
“He’ll (Wilson) be able to expand his game so much further than Kevin Garnett was ever even allowed to.”
By then, the Summer League performance had proved what the Bulls’ rookie was capable of.
He earned a spot on the 2026 NBA All-Summer League First Team. A fitting reward after averaging 24.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.3 blocks, 1.3 assists, and 1.3 steals. He also broke the Summer League debut scoring record, dropping 35 points in his very first game as a pro.
Garnett wanted to see it for himself. He showed up in person for Wilson’s final Summer League game, watched him play, and left impressed enough to hand out a nickname. “Little Ticket,” Wilson took it in stride, saying he’s just trying to live up to being himself.
It was not just Draymond Green; more legends chimed in to hype Wilson’s potential.
“Let me tell you something — I think the Chicago Bulls got the best rookie in the NBA.” Charles Barkley said, “We’re all kind of thinking about the future — there’s no player I would’ve taken before Caleb Wilson. Not one.”
In fact, some early doubters have started to change their tune. Jeff Teague, who initially questioned Wilson, later compared the rookie’s handle to LeBron’s on his podcast. Now, the Bulls star is getting the chance to learn directly from that same player.
An early morning workout session surfaced on social media. Both share the same agency, Klutch Sports, which explains how the session got arranged. Still, the image turned heads across the league.
For Draymond Green, though, it was bigger than that. He made a prediction that sounded outrageous at the time. Months later, the rookie is already earning praise from Garnett and Barkley, dominating Summer League and working out with LeBron.
Surely, the prediction still has a long way to go before it can be judged. But Wilson’s first summer has certainly given Draymond Green something to point to.