CHICAGO — This can’t keep happening.

That was the first thought that crossed Caleb Wilson’s mind in March when he crashed to the ground after floating above the rim for a dunk during a weekday practice at North Carolina. His first emotion, he told the Chicago Tribune this summer, was not anger or even pain. It was disbelief, pure and simple. This couldn’t be happening.

This wasn’t the plan. It was bad enough when he fractured a bone in his left hand in early February of his first and only season with the Tar Heels. The injury knocked him out for a month, but he was forecast to return in time for the postseason. That was enough, in Wilson’s mind, for him to cement his legacy in Chapel Hill while leading the Tar Heels back to the Final Four.

But then Wilson broke his right thumb while dunking the ball during the first week of March. The injury ended his college basketball career. He couldn’t believe it, but he had to accept it. For months, Wilson set the screen saver on his phone to a picture of himself walking into the ACC Tournament game against Duke, his right hand still swaddled in that cast. It was a loss he hoped would never repeat itself.

Yet barely eight months have passed and it happened again. Wilson suffered a fractured right hand during Wednesday’s loss to the San Antonio Spurs, per a league source. The injury requires surgery, and he will be sidelined for four to six weeks, which means he will not return until the second week of December at the earliest.

Once again, the source of Wilson’s pain seemed relatively routine. Wilson was defending Victor Wembanyama, scrambling over to the left side of the perimeter to help Jalen Smith after the Spurs big man picked up the ball. Wilson dodged to Wembanyama’s left, sticking his right hand out to pin him toward the sideline. In the process, Wilson’s right hand ricocheted off Wembanyama’s elbow, his fingers bunching up and buckling awkwardly into his palm. Wilson leaped, using his right arm to swing at the ball as he grabbed reflexively at his shorts with his right hand.

For fans at home, the injury was almost entirely obscured on the CHSN broadcast as Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose held court as midgame guests, swapping headsets and cracking jokes about the referees. On the screen, Wilson silently showed signs of trouble. The rookie grabbed at his hand, glancing down in concern as he flexed his fingers, then balled them up into a fist. His shoulders slumped and his gait turned flat-footed, failing even to pretend to contest a Julian Champagnie shot.

The whistle blew and Wilson headed directly to the sideline, grasping the back of his head and tipping his gaze skyward with that familiar expression of frustrated disbelief.

This can’t keep happening.

For the Bulls, all that matters this season is Wilson. Yes, this team needs to figure out how exactly — or whether at all — to fit Josh Giddey into its long-term plans. Yes, the growth of secondary young players such as Matas Buzelis and Noa Essengue carries plenty of weight. But every other priority for this new roster under new coach Tiago Splitter is secondary to the growth of Wilson, a real-deal star in the making whose athleticism, physical stature and vision has drawn a wealth of excitement in the opening weeks of the season.

Wilson averaged 18.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.8 steals in his first 10 games as a Bull, including Wednesday. His 3-point shot isn’t landing. He has turned the ball over often. His off-ball defense still needs work. And yet none of those clear areas of growth have overshadowed the raw promise of Wilson as a rookie. Splitter voiced consistent enthusiasm about Wilson’s growth from game to game.

The Bulls will need to readjust without the central focus of their team. Splitter did not craft the offense to center around Wilson, instead creating a free-flowing system in which the rookie is meant to impose himself both on and off the ball. This means the team’s style of play itself will not visibly change without Wilson on the court. But without a central source of scoring — and with guard Norman Powell still struggling with back spasms — the Bulls will need to lean heavily on Giddey and Buzelis to carry the offense.

December is a long time away. Until then, the Bulls will be stuck in a holding pattern, waiting for Wilson to return.

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