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Jan 12, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Wizards guard Bilal Coulibaly (0) runs into the courtside seats while saving the ball against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first quarter at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Wizards Forward Entering Do-or-Die Year

Originally posted on Washington Wizards on SI
By Bryson Akins | Last updated Aug 6, 2025 7:00 AM ET

The Washington Wizards are about to have a serious dilemma that they must address. This squad is full of young and talented players, but in a few short years, this roster will get expensive. The Wizards will have to pay guys like Alex Sarr and Tre Johnson max contracts if they keep progressing like this. They will also need to spend a decent amount of cash on role players. This ultimately means players will have to be traded. One that is due for an extension soon is Bilal Coulibaly, and if he does not perform, he will have to be traded.

Coulibaly is entering his third year in the NBA with the Wizards, and he is hoping to improve from a below-average sophomore season. His shooting splits took a significant hit, and some of the drop-off in numbers can be due to his starting role. Overall, though, he did not improve or impress much compared to his rookie season.

Coulibaly jumped from 8.4 points to 12.3 points per game, but his three-point percentage dropped from 34.6 percent to 28.1 percent. The main problem with the drop is that he jumped from 2.9 to 3.8 three-point attempts per game, but was only making 0.1 more attempts last year, finishing at 1.1 three-pointers made per night. His field goal percentage also took a dip, but it is not of significant concern.

His defense was quite solid, as his steals per game increased. His defensive rating went down by .1 from his rookie season, which is a good thing. This means he is giving up 0.1 points while on the court. This stat is also reliant on your teammates' defense, so it is a tough stat. Still, he looked like a better defender compared to his rookie season. I expect a big jump for his defense this season. His length is a great asset for him, and he needs to utilize it.

Bilal Coulibaly, whose dynamic skillset predicated on rim pressure and above the rim athleticism is packaged into a frame that has grown to 6’9” (with a 7’3” w/s) oozes star potential

But that ceiling hinges on him developing into a consistent shooter pic.twitter.com/6HQbWIQxqC
— Point Made Basketball (@pointmadebball) August 5, 2025

The one thing Coulibaly must improve, though, is his playmaking. The Wizards do not have a true playmaker on the squad, and Coulibaly could fill that hole. Having triple-doubles already in his young career and some double-digit assist performances, the forward has an apparent knack for passing. He needs to improve his individual playmaking and shot creation, but if he can get his teammates better looks, it could carve him a role for years.

So, it's time for his stat predictions and my expectations. I have two scenarios for him. The first is that he goes beyond expectations and averages 12 points a game on 35 percent shooting from long distance, five assists, five rebounds, and then a steal and block per game. This is all based on the assumption that he gets moved to the bench full-time, which should benefit him. The other is that Coulibaly completely fails, even with a move to the bench. In this scenario, I have him averaging 8 points per game, three assists, four rebounds, and then half a steal and block per game. This prediction also has him shooting below 40 percent from the field.

This is the biggest year of the young forward's career, and it could go down as the deciding factor on how the rest of his career plays out. He can either rise above the expectations and noise or crumble and find himself behind guys like AJ Johnson, Dillon Jones and Cam Whitmore on the depth chart.

This article first appeared on Washington Wizards on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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