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Bilal Coulibaly

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Bilal Coulibaly
Coulibaly with the Washington Wizards in 2024
No. 0 – Washington Wizards
PositionSmall forward
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (2004-07-26) 26 July 2004 (age 20)
Saint-Cloud, France
Listed height6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
NBA draft2023: 1st round, 7th overall pick
Selected by the Indiana Pacers
Playing career2021–present
Career history
2021–2023Metropolitans 92
2023–presentWashington Wizards
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Medals
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2024 Paris Men's basketball

Bilal Coulibaly (/biˈlɑːl ˌkuːlɪˈbɑːli/ bee-LAHL KOO-lih-BAH-lee; French: [bilal kulibali]; born 26 July 2004) is a French professional basketball player for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played for the Metropolitans 92 of LNB Pro A prior to being selected seventh overall by the Wizards in the 2023 NBA draft. Coulibaly has also played for the French national team, winning silver at the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Early life

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Coulibaly grew up in Courbevoie, France, and began playing basketball for Courbevoie Sport Basket at age eight. He began playing for youth team of Levallois Sporting Club Basket in 2017.[1] He is of Malian descent.[2]

Professional career

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Metropolitans 92 (2021–2023)

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Coulibaly with Metropolitans 92 in 2023

Coulibaly began playing professionally for Metropolitans 92 in LNB Espoirs, the French under-21 league, in 2021. He began the 2022–23 season playing for the Metropolitans 92 under-21 team.[3] He was promoted to the senior team after averaging 21.9 points, 2.6 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game in the LNB Espoirs competition. He played alongside star Victor Wembanyama which brought him to fame. Scouts coming to watch Wembanyama shortly realized Coulibaly's talent.[4] Coulibaly submitted paperwork to enter the 2023 NBA draft.[5]

Washington Wizards (2023–present)

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2023–2024: Rookie Year

The Indiana Pacers selected Coulibaly with the seventh overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft and traded his rights to the Washington Wizards for two future second-round picks and the draft rights to Jarace Walker.[6] On July 2, 2023, he signed with the Wizards.[7] He joined Washington during the 2023 NBA Summer League and ended the four games averaging 12.3 points per game and 4.8 rebounds per game.[8] Coulibaly made his NBA debut in the Wizards' season opener on October 25, and recorded three points, four rebounds, three assists, and three blocks in 23 minutes played in a 143–120 loss to the Indiana Pacers.[9] Shortly after, on October 30, in a game against the Boston Celtics, Coulibaly would become the youngest player in Wizards franchise history to start a game at just 19 years and 96 days.[10] Coulibaly recorded his first double-double with Washington in a December 8 game against the Brooklyn Nets, where he scored 11 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.[11]

On March 18, 2024, the Wizards announced that Coulibaly would miss the remainder of the 2023–24 season with a right wrist fracture that he suffered in a game against the Chicago Bulls. In his rookie season, Coulibaly played in 63 games (starting 15) and averaged 8.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.7 assists.[12]

National team career

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Coulibaly played for the France national under-18 team in the 2022 FIBA U18 European Championship.[13] He averaged 7.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, and one assist over seven games as France finished in fifth place.[14] Coulibaly played with the national team at the 2024 Summer Olympics, earning a silver medal after losing to the United States in the finals.[15]

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

NBA

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Regular season

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2023–24 Washington 63 15 27.2 .435 .346 .702 4.1 1.7 .9 .8 8.4
Career 63 15 27.2 .435 .346 .702 4.1 1.7 .9 .8 8.4

References

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  1. ^ "Qui est Bilal Coulibaly, l'autre pépite des Metropolitans 92?". bebasket.fr (in French). 19 January 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  2. ^ Mabel, Winnie (23 June 2023). "8 players with African roots make it into NBA 2023 draft list". Nairobi News. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  3. ^ "Basket. Élite : Valentin Chery et Bilal Coulibaly étaient en mission défensive pendant Mets 92 - MSB". Ouest-France (in French). 29 March 2023. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  4. ^ Rissotto, Ignacio (19 February 2023). "International Spotlight: The Rise of Bilal Coulibaly". SI.com. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  5. ^ Givony, Jonathan (20 April 2023). "Bilal Coulibaly joins teammate Victor Wembanyama in NBA draft". ESPN.com. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
  6. ^ Wallace, Ava (23 June 2023). "Wizards, with eye on long-term future, take French project Bilal Coulibaly". The Washington Post. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
  7. ^ Washington Wizards [@WashWizards] (2 July 2023). "pen to paper ✍️ @Bilaal_6 signed his contract this morning" (Tweet). Retrieved 16 September 2023 – via Twitter.
  8. ^ "Bilal Coulibaly | Washington Wizards". www.nba.com. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  9. ^ "Wizards' Bilal Coulibaly: Three points in pro debut". CBS Sports. RotoWire. October 26, 2023. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  10. ^ "Bilal Coulibaly Selected as Rising Star". www.nba.com. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  11. ^ Waller, Candi (2023-12-09). "Washington Wizards Rookie Bilal Coulibaly Records First Career Double Double". Sports Illustrated Washington Wizards News, Analysis and More. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  12. ^ "Wizards rookie Bilal Coulibaly (wrist) to miss rest of season". ESPN.com. March 18, 2024. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  13. ^ Givony, Jonathan (15 August 2022). "The top 11 NBA prospects at the FIBA U18 European Championship". ESPN.com. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  14. ^ Taylor, Cody (20 April 2023). "International prospect Bilal Coulibaly declares for 2023 NBA draft". The Rookie Wire. USA Today. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  15. ^ Mullin, Eric (10 July 2024). "A look at the NBA players competing in the Olympics". NBC Los Angeles. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
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