Bulls hope for more UNC magic with Wilson. Bucks begin post-Giannis era by taking Burries and Ament

The Chicago Bulls tried to strike gold in North Carolina again and the Milwaukee Bucks started their post-Giannis Antetokounmpo era in the first round of the NBA draft on Tuesday.

Both the Bulls and Bucks had two top-15 picks Tuesday to highlight the first night of the draft in the Central Division. That represented a major change from last year, when the only Central team with a first-round pick was Chicago, which took Noa Essengue at No. 12 overall.

Advertisement

Chicago selected North Carolina forward Caleb Wilson with the fourth overall pick and took Texas forward Dailyn Swain at No. 15. Milwaukee took Arizona guard Braydon Burries at No. 10 and Tennessee forward Nate Ament at No. 13. The other Central team to add a player Tuesday was Detroit, which traded for Stanford guard Ebuka Okorie after he went 17th.

Wilson becomes the third North Carolina player the Bulls have drafted in the first round. The Bulls selected Michael Jordan third overall in 1984 and Coby White seventh in 2019.

“I’m always going to do whatever it takes to get better,” Wilson said. “I want to be the greatest player of all time, man. Y’all got one of the GOATs in y’all’s history right now. So it’s time for another one. I’m hungry. I’m hungry to be the greatest.”

Wilson’s lone college season ended prematurely when he broke his right thumb in a non-contact drill while trying to come back from a fracture in his left hand. He still earned second-team Associated Press All-America honors while averaging 19.8 points and 9.4 rebounds.

Advertisement

“I feel great, better than ever,” Wilson said. “Been working on my hand strength, so I’ll never have to go through something like that again.”

The Bucks had much at stake as they began to rebuild their roster a night after news broke that they were trading Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat. Burries said he didn’t feel any extra burden from heading to Milwaukee just as the Bucks adapt to life without the two-time MVP forward.

“I wouldn’t say it’s pressure,” Burries said. “I’d say I’m just going to go there and be me and try to be the best version of myself.:

Burries, a…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/bulls-hope-more-unc-magic-035006842.html

Author : STEVE MEGARGEE

Publish date : 2026-06-24 03:50:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.