Could Caleb Wilson be on Hornets’ radar? What UNC product said at NBA Draft Combine
Surrounded by a gaggle of microphones, cameras and other recording devices, Caleb Wilson offered up a nugget that probably left fans of North Carolina’s NBA team drooling.
Considered one of the most talented prospects in a loaded draft on the heels of his freshman campaign in Chapel Hill at North Carolina, Wilson was asked to rattle off the teams he’s met with so far at the NBA Draft Combine.
“Shoot, Brooklyn, Chicago — a lot,” Wilson said Wednesday before the kicker came. “Charlotte.”
Go ahead and dream, Hornets fans.
Consensus has Wilson as a top-five selection, which is far above where the Hornets are slotted in the first round. Charlotte holds picks No. 14 and 18 in the draft, slated for June 23-24, leaving the Hornets far below the range of Wilson’s projections.
Still, that didn’t keep Wilson from meeting with the Hornets’ brass. Sounds like the get-to-know-you session was pretty successful, too.
“It was really cool,” Wilson said. “I met with the Hornets really recently — today, actually — and I feel like it was extremely cool. They’re a really cool franchise, and I went to North Carolina. So, the Hornets were huge where I was in college. So, that was really cool to talk to them.”
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Wilson even opined to the Hornets about the team’s composition.
“I feel like their roster is nice,” Wilson said. “I was telling them they have a good balance of shooting and physicality with the duo of Moussa (Diabate) and Miles Bridges.”
Wilson’s skill set is tantalizing and there’s intrigue with how he’ll fare at the NBA level.
Despite an injury-shortened season after breaking his right thumb in practice March 5, the 6-foot-10 forward was a star for the Tar Heels. Before missing the season’s final nine games after having surgery on his thumb, Wilson averaged 19.8 points and 9.4 rebounds.
Wilson set multiple UNC freshman records, notably registering 15 outings of at least 20 points. He was named second-team All-America and garnered first-team All-ACC and All-Freshman honors.
“Wilson has the highest upside of anyone in the draft,” one NBA talent evaluator told The Charlotte Observer. “Has size/length. A live body. Rebounds out of area. Elite in transition and guards multiple positions.”
Which gives insight into why Wilson is one of the hottest names in the draft and is popular among league executives. They salivate at the possibility of adding someone of Wilson’s caliber into the mix, and he’s been inquisitive during his chats with the Hornets and others.
“Just how they see me as a player on the team,” Wilson said. “I feel like that’s really important to kind of see and make sure we have a similar outlook on what I want and what they want, too. Because I feel like our relationship should be mutually beneficial.
“So, I just ask what they envision me as and what are the things they think I can work on.”
Apparently, Wilson is aware not everybody is enamored with his game.
“People don’t think I can really shoot, which it’s kind of funny to me,” said Wilson, who went 7 for 27 from 3-point range in his lone season with the Tar Heels. “I really work on it and I can shoot. I didn’t have the best numbers this year, but it was an interesting situation because like that’s not what I was asked to do at the college I was at.
“I was just doing what I needed to do to help us win. So, people that say I can’t shoot, I feel like that’s interesting. But I mean I’ll prove it over time. It doesn’t really matter.”
This story was originally published May 14, 2026 at 5:15 AM with the headline "Could Caleb Wilson be on Hornets’ radar? What UNC product said at NBA Draft Combine."
