The Chicago Bulls, led by EVP Bryson Graham, took a swing at No. 15 and selected defensive wing Dailyn Swain out of Texas.
Swain was generally projected to land somewhere in the 15-25 range of the NBA Draft and ultimately became the first pick made outside of the lottery.
Dailyn Swain embodies Bryson Graham’s SLAP philosophy (Size, Length, Athleticism, and Physicality) to a tee. At the NBA Draft Combine, DailynSwain measured 6-foot-6.5 barefoot and 211 pounds, while also boasting a 6-foot-10 wingspan and an 8-foot-8.5 standing reach.
Texas' Dailyn Swain measured 6'6.5 barefoot and 211 pounds at the NBA Draft Combine, with a 6'10 wingspan and 8'8.5 standing reach. pic.twitter.com/f9gLN5nOve
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) May 11, 2026Swain arrives in Chicago after a highly successful junior season at Texas. At just 20 years old, he averaged 17.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.6 steals per game. While he isn’t considered one of the best shooters in this draft class, he showed improvement every year in college and still managed to shoot a respectable 34 percent from three-point range and 60 percent inside the arc.
As for the rest of his offensive game, he’s very good at creating his own shot, something we saw on full display last season. He’s also a high-effort rebounder and, honestly, sets up his teammates better than most people would expect.
I believe that while Swain may not be the popular pick, he’s the right one and perhaps even the perfect one for the Chicago Bulls.
That said, NBA media outlets have had mixed reactions to the former Texas Longhorn.
© Brad Penner-Imagn ImagesWhat is the NBA Media Saying About Dailyn Swain to the Bulls?
Starting with those who were less enthusiastic, Cameron Salerno of CBS Sports wrote:“At pick No. 15, Chicago added another building block in 6-foot-8 wing Dailyn Swain. The former Texas star can be an impactful two-way player off the bench as a rookie with the potential to close games down the stretch because of his defense, but can be viewed as a bit of a reach here. Swain was No. 25 on CBS Sports’ final prospect rankings.”
Salerno ultimately handed the Bulls a C+ grade, largely because Swain was ranked lower on CBS Sports’ board. But almost everything he wrote about the player himself sounded positive. Odd. Another publication that wasn’t particularly high on the selection was Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley, who wrote:“Can [Dailyn Swain] shoot, though? That’s his biggest question, and it’ll be one of the bigger swing skills in this prospect pool.
Dailyn Swain’s mechanics look funky, and the results aren’t great. If he doesn’t demand attention on the perimeter, he’ll have trouble sniffing out attack lanes he’s otherwise ready to exploit.
Had Swain landed elsewhere, maybe his shooting concern wouldn’t have loomed quite as large. The spacing already looks tight in Chicago, though, so there will be real urgency for Swain to expand his range sooner than later.”
The offensive concerns are understandable. Swain is still a bit of a project on that end of the floor, particularly as a shooter. But he’s shown enough improvement and enough flashes elsewhere offensively to believe there’s real upside there. Apparently, though, not everyone is sold. Outside of those two outlets, most draft analysts seemed to love the pick for Chicago, starting with Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports, who said:Huuuge swing for the Bulls. Dailyn Swain is gonna be a versatile defender and good connective passer at worst, and he was an elite iso scorer at Texas. If he fixes his jumper he has star upside. Encouraging stat: Swain made over 80% of his 300-plus free throws and over 50% of his… pic.twitter.com/sIHldJQEMY
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnor) June 24, 2026 Jeremy Woo of ESPN was also somewhat surprised by the selection, but he understood why the Chicago Bulls ultimately decided to go in this direction.Swain pick feels surprising, but came at the very top of his range. Memphis/OKC at No. 16 and 17 were potential landing spots. I had him going later, but this pick gives Chicago's roster a pretty clear vison. That said, if I see anyone write "SLAP" again I swear to god
— Jeremy Woo (@JeremyWoo) June 24, 2026 The Athletic is the final outlet we’re looking at, starting with Joel Lorenzi, who had been sold on Dailyn Swain for a while and even mocked him to the Chicago Bulls at No. 15 before the 2026 NBA Draft.Here’s my tidbit on Swain from our writer’s mock at The Athletic. I get the collective questionable shooting from this Bulls draft might scare people, but I think Swain should be a versatile gap-filler down the line. Just need wings like that. And he puts crazy pressure on rim t.co/Oi4g3zfaZe pic.twitter.com/ozSrTqQvTo
— Joel Lorenzi (@JoelXLorenzi) June 24, 2026 His colleagues, Sam Vecenie and John Hollinger, also graded the pick highly, but they attached plenty of questions to it.“Dailyn Swain is a polarizing prospect, and there are reasonable arguments for and against him. On the plus side, it’s difficult to find a player with this kind of driving upside. He’s big and physical with terrific body control and a ready-made slashing game…
But there are a lot of flaws to fix, too. Swain has to fix the jumper, which is going to be complicated, if he ever wants to shoot at volume in the NBA. He needs to make decisions more quickly and lock in defensively. These are key flaws that could stop him from seeing the court early on. If you believe in your developmental staff, I’m all for having Swain as a lottery pick. I thought a team like the Bulls, with a new coaching staff and front office, might feel less inclined to take a chance on him, given the issues in his game.”
I would say the general consensus on Dailyn Swain is largely positive. Most evaluators seem to agree on his strengths, but they can’t quite convince themselves that the areas of concern will ultimately get worked out.
That’s something we’ll only find out once Dailyn Swain suits up for Chicago, maybe as soon as NBA Summer League.
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