The Washington Wizards are days away from their regular season opener as head coach Brian Keefe's young squad prepares to prove their doubters wrong.
Washington is set to have several new layers debut when the season kicks off on Wednesday, with the likes of guys like CJ McCollum, Cam Whitmore, Tre Johnson and Will Riley preparing to make their first regular season appearance in a Wizards uniform.
Unfortunately, the Wizards' won't be at full strength when the season opener comes around, whcih will make it hard to gauge just how much of a sleeper the team could be in the wide open Eastern Conference this season.
Brian Keefe rules out Bilal Coulibaly
Bilal Coulibaly, who has been sidelined throughout camp and the preseason as he recovers from thumb-ligament surgery, will not be available to play in Wednesday's season opener, coach Brian Keefe said. AJ Johnson (bruise) has been cleared to play, Keefe said.
— Josh Robbins (@JoshuaBRobbins) October 20, 2025
Bilal Coulibaly suffered a thumb injury during his FIBA EuroBasket run with team France this offseason, ending a pivotal offseason for the oversized guard.
The former No. 7 overall pick is entering his third year with the Wizards and after showing flashes of an offensive leap with the Wizards last season as a sophomore, expectations were raised for what he could become in D.C.
Washington has high hopes for the defensive-minded prospect, with many believing that the right development could put him in position to become one of the best two-way players in the league.
However, his recent setback puts the pressue on the French product to show flashes when he returns to the lineup, especially considering his run during EuroBasket play seemed to flash more negatives than it did positives.
Coulibaly's defensive aggressiveness contributed to him spending most of his time internationally in foul trouble rather than showing flashes of progress in the areas Washington hoped he could improve.
With the Wizards adding several intriguing prospects this offseason to bolster not only their frontcourt, but their backcourt too, Coulibaly will need to show some sort of improvement this season before the team's front office forces the reality that it may be in their best interest to consider a change of scenery for the former lottery pick.
Considering the fact that the Wizards moved on from Deni Avidja, who arguably showed more promise during his time in Washington than Coulibaly has, it's clear that the Wizards are willing to pull the plug on any experiment if they feel a deal benefits them in the end.
Regardless, with Keefe waiting to rule him out days ahead of the opener, it suggest that the Wizards playmaker could be close to returning to the lineup sooner rather than later.