What Is The Key To Wizards Hot Start In Preseason?

The NBA preseason is among us all and things couldn’t be any better for the Washington Wizards. Thus far, they are 2-0 and are looking to make that 3-0 Wednesday October 18th as they will be visiting New York to take on the Knicks at 7:30 PM ET. The Wizards offseason was one of the busiest offseasons from any team. Trading away an all star is serious business and a tough decision to make at times. However, trading away two all stars complicates matters even further and makes you wonder exactly what direction is this Washington Wizards team going in.

Holding on and keeping Kyle Kuzma was key for this team and their rebuild. Kuzma is a borderline all star himself. He can score and get buckets from all over the floor. He does a lot of work on the defensive end of the floor as well as he can guard literally every position any given night. That has been beneficial for this entire Wizards team. Kyle Kuzma is leading the way and his defensive presence may have rubbed off on Wizards rookie Bilal Coulibaly.

Defense wins basketball games and they also say it wins championships too. The Wizards have been playing some really good defense thus far this preseason. Bilal Coulibaly deserves a lot of credit as he yet again had a monster night defensively as they defeated the Charlotte Hornets 98-92. Holding any team to under 100 points in the NBA nowadays deserves a pat on the back. You can’t help but smile after seeing Bilal on the defensive side of the ball.

Bilal Coulibaly goes up with two hands 🤲

The Wizards No. 7 overall pick continues a strong defensive showing this #NBAPreseason.

Watch now on the NBA App: https://t.co/WfH3FJ6tZs pic.twitter.com/Q9DEiomHXU
— NBA (@NBA) October 12, 2023

The Wizards may have found a gem in the NBA draft. Many felt like he wasn’t the right pick for this team. However, he is a huge reason they are defending as well as they are as he had three steals in his first preseason action and now racked up four more steals against the Hornets. Bilal Coulibaly is the key for the Wizards hot start to begin the preseason.