The Washington Wizards find themselves at 2-2 after an inconsistent start to the year led to the team finding their rhythm on a road trip to Atlanta.
Washington grabbed their first win of the season against the Atlanta Hawks on Monday, and they backed up that win with another impressive outing at home on Wednesday night. In their two victories, the Wizards saw a glimpse of their young core taking strides.
Following the wins, superstar Trae Young shared his thoughts on one of the Wizards’ future building blocks.
Trae Young offers high praise for Bilal Coulibaly
Over the last week of play, Bilal Coulibaly has taken on the task of being the primary defender on Atlanta’s superstar guard. In the first matchup, Coulibaly seemingly got the better of Young forcing his worst shooting night of the season after a 2/15 outing. The French product taking on the defensive challenge while also performing on offense was impressive, to say the least.
In the next battle on Wednesday, Young played drastically better with 35 points, 15 assists, and four rebounds on the night. However, his monster performance was still not enough to outlast Coulibaly and the Wizards. Washington’s guard had a career night with 27 points, nine rebounds, one assist, three steals, and one block.
Coulibaly’s performance not only impressed Wizards’ fans, but it also earned the respect of the Hawks All-Star guard.
Asked Trae Young about Bilal Coulibaly, who held him to 2-15 shooting on Monday and scored a career-high 27 points tonight.
— Bijan Todd (@bijan_todd) October 31, 2024
“You gotta try to use different tricks to get the ball around him…he’s a great player. He’s gonna have a good career in this league.” 👀 pic.twitter.com/dqKicTxlAH
Coulibaly is currently averaging 18.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.8 assists, while shooting 59.1% from field goal range, including 42.1% from three. A major jump from his rookie numbers in his first season with Washington.
After the first full week of the season, it’s clear that the Wizards' young core is gelling better than many thought they would start. And if the former No. 7 overall pick is indeed taking thesecond-year leap that everyone hoped he could, it could be a game-changer for not just this season, but the rebuilding process as a whole.
While it is a small sample size, all indications point to Coulibaly developing into one of the best two-way players in the league. Between his defensive tenacity and increase of confidence on the offensive side of the ball, it’s clear other stars in the league are taking notice of the rising guard.
That said, the future in Washington may be brighter than originally thought. Fortunately, that’s a warm sight for Wizards fans hoped to see in a season not many had high expectations for.