Bilal Coulibaly Named Wizards 'Jewel'

Washington Wizards guard Bilal Coulibaly is making strides in his second season with the team.

The 20-year-old Frenchman is proving why the Wizards were smart to take him with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.

ESPN writer Ohm Youngmisuk had praise for Coulibaly given his positive performance so far this season.

"Coulibaly is the draft jewel of the Michael Winger-Will Dawkins regime so far. He proved he was ahead of his development curve as a rookie when he averaged 8.4 points, 4.1 rebounds and shot 34.6% from 3 last season," Youngmisuk writes.

Coulibaly may not be the best player for the Wizards when they are a contender again, but his growth has proven that he will continue to develop and that he has some form of trajectory. That's more than what most of the current Wizards roster can say.

It remains to be seen how high Coulibaly's ceiling can go, but the Wizards have to like exactly what they are seeing from the second-year pro.

While he has dealt with his fair share of ups and downs, Coulibaly is showing that he can be one of the rising stars in the league, and that could put him on a path to be a key player for the Wizards for many years to come.

If the team can find the right players that Coulibaly can complement, the Wizards might have a ticket to get them out of the lottery and back into the postseason conversation.

Coulibaly and the Wizards are back on the court tomorrow night when they host Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns and the New York Knicks. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET inside Capital One Arena. The game can be watched on Monumental Sports Network or streamed on NBA League Pass.

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