4 things Wizards fans want to see from Bilal Coulibaly as a rookie
By Cem Yolbulan
Strength
Bilal Coulibaly already has impressive physical and athletic tools. He has a massive 7-foot-2 wingspan, long strides, and a quick bounce. He has all the physical building blocks to be a dominant athlete in the NBA.
He can still use a few pounds of muscle.
Coulibaly currently has a slight and lanky build. This can be an advantage as he is quick and fast thanks to being light on his feet. He shouldn’t be losing that edge either. So, the balance between getting stronger without getting bulky needs to be struck.
Coulibaly already projects to be a high-end defender. He can currently defend guards and some small forwards. However, in order to really be an elite multi-positional defender, he needs to add some core and upper body strength to guard bigger players. If he wants to become a defender who can switch onto bigger players, he needs to be able to guard post players. And NBA big men are extremely strong in the post. In order to deal with their size and strength, Coulibaly will have to live in the weight room in the first few years of his career.
Filling out his body and finding his optimal physique will be a work in progress for Coulibaly. He will likely grow taller in the next couple of seasons as well. So he needs to add muscle accordingly.
This will be something to watch not only in his first year but also for a few seasons after that. How well he can stay in front of bigger and stronger players throughout his rookie season will be telling for what the future holds for Coulibaly.
