Why Wizards Forward Could Win Rising Stars Challenge MVP

There are good reasons to believe a Washington Wizards forward could become the Rising Stars Challenge MVP.

Feb 7, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Wizards guard Bilal Coulibaly (0) looks on during the second quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images | Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images

There are plenty of gifted young players in the league who will be on display during the Rising Stars Challenge on Friday night, and one of them is Washington Wizards forward Bilal Coulibaly.

Coulibaly will be playing under the honorary head coach Mitch Richmond in the event. They may have the best team out of the bunch. Some of the other great players on their team include Amen Thompson (Houston Rockets), Matas Buzelis (Chicago Bulls), Julian Strawther (Denver Nuggets) and Bub Carrington (Wizards).

It's their time to shine 🌟🌟🌟#ForTheDistrict | @NBAAllStar pic.twitter.com/oMakDXoWm6
— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) February 14, 2025

Because they have perhaps the best roster in this four-team tournament, they have a good chance of winning it all. With that being said, Coulibaly can simply be himself. As we know, he has a complete game and recently recorded his first career triple-double in the NBA.

As he plays for the Wizards, he doesn't have much of an opportunity to fully embrace being the main scorer. They tend to share the ball and play together as a team. Tonight, he can look to be aggressive when scoring the basketball. He will have plenty of opportunity to do so too, as his teammates should get plenty of stops on the defensive end.

We know Coulibaly to be a player who embraces playing lockdown defense. When a team can get stops defensively, they can turn them into easy buckets offensively on the fast-break. No doubt, as this is All-Star weekend, they will look to run the floor every opportunity they can get. Coulibaly could get some easy buckets in this game.

This event will be great if you're a Wizards fan, as there is a chance to see the ceiling of Coulibaly. He has a game similar to that of Kawhi Leonard. Leonard has been a defensive-minded wing player throughout his career with the ability to light it up offensively as well.

This game may be one where we see the best of Coulibaly.

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