Caleb Wilson isn’t sorry he can’t jump out of the gym. And he has Nikola Jokic to thank for that.
The North Carolina forward, projected as a top-five pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, went on record this week with a surprisingly self-aware admission about his own game — and it all traces back to the Denver Nuggets’ three-time MVP.
“I really like Jokic, he’s my favorite player. Even before he was MVP,” Wilson told Chase Hughes of Monumental Sports Network. “I really wasn’t that athletic when I was younger, believe it or not, so to just see him as a halfcourt hub and not be that athletic was really cool for me.”
That kind of honesty is rare from a draft prospect. Most guys talk up their vertical, their wingspan, their ability to play above the rim. Wilson is instead leaning into the idea that a 6-foot-9 center with average hops can become the most unstoppable force in the league — if you know how to read the floor.
Jokic’s game has always been a masterclass in doing more with less explosiveness. He doesn’t blow past defenders. He doesn’t sky for putback dunks. He just sees angles that don’t exist for anyone else and delivers passes that look like magic tricks. For a kid who grew up feeling like he didn’t have the elite athletic gifts of his peers, that was a lifeline.
How Jokic Changed Everything for a Generation
The Serbian center just finished another absurd season — 27.7 points, 12.9 rebounds, 10.7 assists per game while shooting 57% from the floor and 38% from three. That’s a second straight year averaging a triple-double, yet Denver still got bounced in the first round by Minnesota. The numbers almost feel routine now, which is its own kind of crazy.
But Wilson isn’t just a fan. He’s a student. The former Tar Heel studied how Jokic manipulated defenses from the high post, how he used his body to seal off smaller defenders, and how every pass seemed to arrive exactly when and where the shooter needed it. That’s not something you teach. That’s something you absorb.
According to ESPN, ClutchPoints, and Yahoo Sports, Wilson is currently slotted at No. 4 overall in most mock drafts, with the Chicago Bulls often mentioned as a likely destination. If that holds, he’ll enter the league carrying the same philosophy that made Jokic a legend: it’s not about how high you jump, but how much you see before you land.
Wilson doesn’t claim to be the next Jokic. But he is the first top prospect to publicly admit that his role model made him feel okay about not being the most athletic guy on the court. In a league still obsessed with speed and bounce, that might be the most honest thing anyone has said all year.
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