Player Comparison For Wizards Rookie Bilal Coulibaly

Last night, the Washington Wizards started their preseason start of the season against a team many of us may not be very familiar with. They played the Australian team based in Cairns,Queensland - the Cairns Taipans. Things got off to a great start for the Washington Wizards and their fanbase as they defeated the Taipans 145-82. There are two things worth mentioning here. The Wizards scored a ton of points! As expected, Kyle Kuzma and Jordan Poole led the way there on the offensive side of things. They will be a tough duo to match on a nightly basis. The second thing worth mentioning is the amound of turnovers the Wizards forced.

Defense is a lost art of the game of basketball at times nowadays. However, the Wizards played exceptionally well defensively in this game and a big reason for success in that department is rookie Bilal Coulibaly. BC only scored five points in this game. He really stuffed the stat sheet and did a little bit of everything in this game as he added six rebounds and three assist as well. Yes, the scoring was low. However, he only took four shots but he shot 50% from the field in this game.

Bilal Coulibaly plays both ends!

The Wizards rookie gets on the board in his #NBAPreseason debut. pic.twitter.com/ysdJU2JJtR
— NBA (@NBA) October 10, 2023

Where he was most productive was on the defensive side of the ball as he led the team in steals with three for the night. He even had a block in this game as well. Bilal had shades of Mattisse Thybulle! Mattisse Thybulle of the Portland Trailblazers is one of the NBA’s premiere defenders. If Bilal can perform like this on a nightly basis, the Wizards may have found a gem with this draft pick.