Johnny's Couch

The calendar on the wall says it's 2026, and yet I keep thinking I've gone back in time to 1984.

That’s cause my beloved Bulls have a rookie who reminds me of--dare I say what I'm about to say?

No, I can't. Seems too soon. Scared I'll jinx that rookie. Even though I know that nothing I say, write, or think has any outcome on how these things play out.

So, go ahead, Benny old boy--don't be scared. Say what's on your mind.

Okay, I'll say it...

Caleb Wilson--that rookie on the Bulls--reminds me of the Bulls rookie in 1984. A man by the name of...

Michael Jeffrey Jordan.

There, I said it! 

Consider the evidence...

Caleb went to the University of North Carolina. So did MJ.

And Caleb wasn't the first player selected in the draft. And neither--believe it or not, and I still can't believe it--was Jordan.

No, Caleb was the fourth pick. And Jordan was the third. Behind Hakeem Olajuwon (first), and Sam Bowie (second).

Now, I don't pretend to be an expert on the NBA draft. Then as now, I don't follow the college game. But...

The first time I started watching Jordan play was in the summer of 1984, not long after the Bulls had selected him with the third pick.

He was a member of the 1984 U.S. Olympic team--then filled with college players or guys just out of college--who were barnstorming across the country, playing teams with NBA stars. Preparing for the summer games, in which they won the gold.  

And even during those barnstorming games, it was obvious that the best player on the court--NBA all stars included--was Jordan.

And I had two immediate thoughts. One...

I could not believe--as I've already said--that there were two other teams so dumb as to pass on Jordan.

And two…

I couldn't believe that my Bulls who, then as now, were awful at drafting players, actually had enough sense to select him.

And all during the summer of 1984, I would tell everybody and anybody you gotta see this kid named Jordan. And people would say,,.

Sure, sure, Benny--whatever you say...

He even sticks out his tongue like you know who...

Fast forward to 2026–let me set the scene.

I'm watching the Summer League--which in itself is a cry for help.

As the Summer League is a league in Vegas for newly signed rookies and wannabe signed rookies who, though getting up in years, still dream of making it to the NBA. Think of it as a raggedly played tryout.

Which only a basketball junkie would watch. Point is...

After only a few minutes of watching, it's obvious to me that the best guy in the Summer League is Caleb Wilson—by far. 

He's blocking shots, dunking the ball, grabbing rebounds, and driving to the hoop with more fearless fervor, passion and energy than anyone else.

Moreover, he's hitting his three-point shots. The very thing all the experts said he couldn't do, he's now doing for everyone to see.

So it's clear he's been working on his weakness. Just like MJ used to do.

And so I'm just about screaming out loud with joy something I haven't said since 1984. Which is...

I can't believe three other teams saw this guy and didn't immediately draft him.

And...

I can't believe the Bulls didn't find someway to screw it up by drafting someone else.

The best young player in the league--the guy with the most potential--is on my Bulls. Oh, happy day!

And just as in 1984, I'm telling everyone and anyone about this new kid on the Bulls. And I get responses like...

Sure, sure, Benny--whatever you say... 

Another way Caleb reminds me of Jordan is that they're both grudge holders who uses the slights they never forget as motivation.

I believe Jordan still holds a grudge against his high school coach who cut him from the varsity.

Just as Caleb holds a grudges against the three guys--AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, and Cam Boozer--chosen ahead of him in the draft.

It's not even rational for Wilson to hold a grudge against these guys. They weren't the ones who made the draft selections.

But, again, there really is nothing rational about holding grudges. Not matter how much they fueled Jordan's drive.

Another way young Caleb reminds me of young MJ is, well, I call it Johnny's couch—a reference to The Tonight Show back in the day, when it was hosted by Johnny Carson, speaking of GOATs.

Follow me, folks, I will connect the dots.

When guests came on, they'd sit in the prime-time chair next to Johnny and then when their time in the spotlight was up, they'd move over to the couch, next to Ed McMahon. While the next guest took the chair to chat with Johnny. 

Point is--they stuck around.

Unless they were the big timers. Like, oh, Frank Sinatra or John Wayne or Jimmy Stewart, etc. You know--the stars.

In their case, they'd say, I’d like to stick around, Johnny, but I gotta go. Like they had something really important to do, even though the tapings were in the afternoon and they probably had nothing to do except lunch.

Like they were too important and too busy to sit on Johnny's couch while some lesser knowns took the sport light.

Sorry, Larry, MJ was just too good...

It's a little like that in the Summer League. The big-time draft choices--the aforementioned Dybantsa, Peterson, and Boozer--didn't stick around.

They played a couple of games and then took off. Like they were just too important to move to Johnny's couch.

But not Caleb. He kept playing even after the big timers had left. He'd probably still be playing if the Summer League had not ended. 

When asked about it, Caleb told reporters.

"I feel like I'm different than all of them. I can't say they don't enjoy basketball, but I enjoy basketball. I love this stuff. I'm going to play as much as I can. As much as my team will let me. I'm not the type to withdraw from a game because I don't feel good because I know in the NBA I’m not going to feel good some games. As long as I don't have an injury, I'm going to play every time. People come from all over the world to come see me play. So I don't want to let them down."

You know who used to say stuff like that? Michael Jordan.

In fact, MJ demanded a-love-of-the game clause be put in his contract, meaning the Bulls had to let him play even when they didn't want him to play. Sure enough...

At the start of Jordan's second season, he broke his foot. And Jerry Krause, the GM, tried to force him to sit out the season, so he could fully heal up and the Bulls could tank and get a higher pick in the draft.

Jordan would have none of it. Said if he could play, he was playing. Told Krause and the other Jerry--team owner Reinsdorf--if you don't let me play for the Bulls, I'll go home and play pickup ball in North Carolina.

The Bulls relented and let him play. And they snuck into the playoffs. Where they were swept by Larry Bird's Boston Celtics, then the best team in the league. But not before Jordan exhibited his greatness by scoring 63 points in game two. Prompting Bird to compare Jordan to God.

So sometimes you can win, even when losing. Though I'm pretty sure Jordan didn't see it that way.

But I for one will always be grateful MJ did not sit it out, as risky as it was to play. And that playing--when everyone else would sit--is what makes him the greatest. Or as Larry Bird put it...

"I would never called him the greatest player I'd ever seen if I didn't mean it. It's just God disguised as Michael Jordan."

By the way, Jordan never really fully forgave the Jerrys for trying to make him sit--just another one of those grudges he probably holds to this day.

Jordan always played, except when he was injured. He didn't think he was better than the game—even though he was the greatest player in the game. 

I gotta feeling Caleb Wilson is cut the same way.

Happy to say Caleb shows no signs of holding grudges against the Bulls, who, after all, bowed to wishes, and let him play in the Summer League.

Says he’s glad to be here. Wouldn’t want to be on any other team. Which is what MJ said almost to the day Bulls ran him out of town. A grudge I'm not fully over--almost 30 years later.

Don’t know where this Caleb era will take us. But we’re off to a glorious start--just like in 1984.