The Washington Wizards finally have their guy. The new regime under Michael Winger and Will Dawkins made their first big draft selection by picking 18-year-old French forward Bilal Coulibaly of Metropolitans 92.
The Wizards were so confident about their selection that they moved up a spot in the draft. Initially holding the 8th pick of the draft, the Wizards feared that the teams below them would try to trade up ahead of them to select Coulibaly. Washington didn’t want to risk losing their guy, so they traded two future second-round picks to switch spots with the Indiana Pacers who had the 7th pick in the draft.
Unlike most of his fellow classmen, Coulibaly is less of a known commodity in the NBA draft circles. He had a meteoric rise in recent months to not only enter his name in this year’s draft but also climb up to the no.7 of the draft.
This is because up until the second half of this past season, Coulibaly was playing for the youth squad of Metropolitans 92. He only cracked the rotation in 2023 and became an integral part of the French League finalists.
During the regular season, he averaged 5 points and 3.1 rebounds in 18.1 minutes per game. He increased his role in the playoffs, averaging 26.8 minutes per game and raising his stats to 8.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 1.3 steals.
It is important to note that Coulibaly was playing against grown professional men in one of the best teams in a very well-respected European league. Even the fact that he became a 2nd-option after Victor Wembanyama in the playoffs as an 18-year-old is extremely impressive.
Coulibaly is certainly not the most polished prospect. He is very early in his professional basketball journey, however, he has all the tools physically and skill-wise to be successful in the NBA.
He is a fluid athlete who runs the floor well, plays hard and creates with and without the ball. He is a smart player on both ends of the floor, making plays both as a help defender and a cutter on offense. His size, length, and body fit the modern mold of a two-way small forward.
Since Coulibaly is a raw prospect, there is a big variance in his potential development. He can be considered a low-floor and high-ceiling prospect.
Let’s take a look at what the low-end, median, and high-end outcome for Coulibaly looks like. These are different player comparisons for Coulibaly depending on his development; one comparison for his worst-case scenario, one for the realistic scenario, and one for the dream scenario.
Derrick Jones Jr.
If Bilal Coulibaly failed to develop the way everyone in the Wizards organization hopes for, his floor probably looks like a Derrick Jones Jr-type of player.
Just like Coulibaly, Jones is a 6’6 forward with an impressively long wingspan and a wiry frame. He also came into the league as a bouncy, fluid athlete with a less-than-ideal jump shot.
Over the years, Jones made a name for himself as a solid wing defender who likes to play above the rim. He remains one of the best athletes and dunkers in the league but failed to improve his skill level offensively. He is an extremely limited offensive player except for rim-rocking attacks to the basket.
Coulibaly’s floor is also a good defender with no jump shot or scoring punch offensively. There probably is a role in the NBA for this type of player as Jones is a rotation-level player with the Chicago Bulls. However, it is not what you hope for when you draft someone with the 7th overall pick.
Coulibaly needs to work on his jump shot. Teams dare him to shoot and he needs to at least make them pay. He doesn’t need to be an elite shooter to be a starter-level wing but he needs to be respectable to become a two-way forward. His shooting mechanics are not bad, and considering he is already decent at ball-handling and passing for his position, there is no reason to think he can’t at least become an average shooter.
And if he does that, he will have a much better career than this worst-case scenario.
OG Anunoby
If the Washington Wizards pick Bilal Coulibaly develops the way the Wizards are hoping for, they will have a player similar to OG Anunoby on their hands.
The Toronto Raptors swingman has similar physical measurements to Coulibaly. 6’7 frame with an elite wingspan and a strong body, Anunoby has the prototypical wing look. He has gotten stronger in his six years in the NBA, becoming one of the best multi-positional defenders in the league.
Anunoby is one of a handful of players in the league who can legitimately guard 1 through 5. He has very good mobility, quickness, size, and athleticism.
He is not the most dynamic offensive player but he can knock down open three-pointers, and attack off-the-dribble. He is a career 37.5% three-point shooter, a mark that is good enough to be respected out there.
That is a point Coulibaly could reasonably get to. He might be a more polished player now than Anunoby was when he entered the league as the 23rd-overall pick in 2017.
It is not difficult to see the path Coulibaly could be on to be a 37-38 percent three-point shooter. Once he has that it will open up driving lanes for his attacks to the rim.
Anunoby is one of the best defenders in the league, so Coulibaly might not be able to get there. But Coulibaly could also be a better offensive player than Anunoby. He is already a better transition player and ball-handler than him.
The two are not the same players, but as an overall player level in terms of skill set and two-way ability, Coulibaly’s median outcome could be Anunoby-esque, and that is very intriguing.
Baby Giannis Antetokounmpo
It may not be fair to any prospect to be compared to one of the best players of his generation and one of the greatest development stories of all time. That is why this is the ultimate best-case scenario. We can call it the top 1 percentile outcome.
If everything goes above and beyond our expectations, Bilal Coulibaly could become a mini-Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Coulibaly obviously lacks the height, size, and strength of the Greek Freak. However, he is only 18 years old and still growing. Just take a look at the rookie year photos of Giannis to see what hard work and NBA trainers can do to improve one’s body over the years.
The similarities in the playing style of the two players are striking. They both play very hard, and love running the floor and pushing the pace. They both have a nice arsenal of euro-steps and finishes around the rim.
Antetokounmpo initially made a name for himself as an elite defender in the league. He could switch out in the perimeter and defend smaller players while being able to protect the rim as well. The first few seasons were a struggle on the offensive end.
Coulibaly could potentially follow a similar trajectory. He may not be the otherworldly defender and rim protector Giannis is, but he can certainly be an elite multi-positional defensive player.
Antetokounmpo failed to improve his shot over the years, he arguably got worse on that front. Yet, that doesn’t stop him from being one of the most dominant offensive players in the league.
Coulibaly will likely never be the unstoppable driving force that Giannis is offensively, but he has the ability to make up for that with better outside shooting.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bilal Coulibaly had similar trajectories on their way to the NBA, bursting onto the scene seemingly out of nowhere as raw international prospects. Let’s hope that for the Wizards’ sake, their NBA trajectories are similar too.
Washington Wizards: Grading their high-upside 2023 draft picks
The Washington Wizards made their picks in the 2023 NBA Draft, most notably Bilal Coulibaly. These are the grades for each of their selections.