During a recent episode of the Game Theory podcast with Sam Vecenie and Bryce Simon, Vecenie discussed how elite Washington Wizards forward Bilal Coulibaly is on the defensive side of the ball. Once the Wizards put some solid pieces around Coulibaly, he could become one of the best defenders in the league:
“Bilal Coulibaly was, like, kind of interesting to me,” Vecenie said. “I think that guy is— Again, that’s like the perfect example of, man, when he gets a real infrastructure behind him, I think he might be f****** awesome on defense with how long and athletic he is.”
If they can do that, Coulibaly could turn into an absolute stud for the Wizards.
How can the Wizards help Bilal Coulibaly?
Last season was an impressive one for Coulibaly. He took significant steps toward becoming a legitimate young star at the NBA level, doing a little bit of everything on both sides of the ball.
Coulibaly appeared in 59 games, playing 33.0 minutes per contest. He averaged 12.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.7 blocks while shooting 42.1% from the floor and 28.1% from beyond the arc.
Though he took a step back in the three-point shooting department, Coulibaly did exactly what Vecenie praised him for: Defended. He showed exactly why the Wizards drafted him when they did, and now, they just have to follow Vecenie’s plan.
Up to this point, they’ve done an underrated job in doing so, finding a way to bring in solid defenders to their rotation, with a much-needed sprinkle of offense.
Most notably, Alex Sarr, though he has been a relative disaster on the offensive end, is a solid young defender. He could turn into a great tool for the Wizards’ defense next to Coulibaly.
Corey Kispert is already a solid defender, and guys like Kyshawn George and Cam Whitmore, who the team traded for this summer, have the tools and build to get to that point.
Washington is still in the very early stages of its rebuild. Coulibaly still has a lot of work to do if he ever wants to get to the point of making All-Defensive teams or, better yet, leading the Wizards to the playoffs.
But the outline is there. And Washington has taken some initial steps toward giving him the help he needs to thrive on the defensive end. Now, all that’s left to do is develop, watch, and wait.