Bykov forward Caleb Wilson He will undergo surgery on Thursday to repair a fractured right hand, the team announced today (Link to Twitter via KC Johnson of Chicago Sports Network).
According to Johnson, Wilson will likely be re-evaluated in about three weeks and could miss four to six weeks. ESPN’s Shams Charania was the first to report (via Twitter), that this year’s No. 4 overall pick is expected to miss four to six weeks.
Wilson was injured in the third quarter of Wednesday’s loss to San Antonio when he attempted to fumble the ball Victor Wembanyamahands Wilson’s hand appeared to hit Wembanyama’s elbow during the play, for Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic (free link).
It’s a disappointing turn of events for the 20-year-old, who had an impressive start to his rookie campaign. In 10 games, Wilson averaged 18.9 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.8 steals and 0.9 blocks in 30.8 minutes per game with a .420/.324/.732 shooting percentage.
As Lorenzi points out, this is Wilson’s third major hand injury in about nine months. The former North Carolina star broke a bone in his left hand with the Tar Heels in February and then broke his right thumb while throwing as he was building strength to return to action. A broken thumb required surgery that ended his freshman season.
In 2025/26, Wilson won numerous awards for his outstanding play with the Tar Heels. He averaged 19.8 ppg, 9.4 rpg, 2.7 rpg, 1.5 rpg and 1.4 rpg in 24 games (31.3 mpg) during his lone college season.
Johnson, if Wilson can return from a broken right hand in exactly five weeks, he will miss Chicago’s next 16 games tweets. That’s about 20% of the season, Johnson notes.
Noah Esengu, Patrick Williams and Leonard Miller are among the Bulls’ forwards who could see more playing time in Wilson’s absence. It also wouldn’t be surprising if players like Matas Bouzelis and Josh Giddy see an increase in their field goal numbers while Wilson recovers.
Chicago is now 1-9, second worst in the Eastern Conference.