Bilal Coulibaly ( ; ; born 26 July 2004) is a French professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast D ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA). He played for the

Metropolitans 92 Metropolitans 92 is a French professional basketball club that is based in Levallois-Perret, in the Paris metropolitan area. The club currently plays in the LNB Pro A, the highest-tier level in French basketball. The club was established in 200 ...

LNB Pro A The LNB Pro A, currently known for sponsorship reasons as Betclic Élite, is the top-tier men's professional basketball league in France. The competition has existed since 1921. Since 1987, the Ligue Nationale de Basket has governed the league. ...

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 The 2024 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 2024), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la XXXIIIe Olympiade, links=no) and also known as Paris 2024, is an upcoming international multi-sport event that is s ...

Early life

Coulibaly grew up in

Courbevoie Courbevoie () is a commune located in the Hauts-de-Seine Department of the Île-de-France region of France. It is in the suburbs of the city of Paris, from the center of Paris. The centre of Courbevoie is situated from the city limits of Par ...

, France, and began playing basketball for Courbevoie Sport Basket at age eight. He began playing for youth team of

Levallois Sporting Club Basket Levallois Sporting Club Basket, abbreviated as either LCB Basket or Levallois SCB, is a French basketball club that is based in Levallois, Paris, France. It is the men's basketball section of the French multi-sport club Levallois Sporting Club. H ...

in 2017. He is of

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...

an descent.

Professional career

Metropolitans 92 (2021–2023)

Coulibaly began playing professionally for

in LNB Espoirs, the French under-21 league, in 2021. He began the 2022–23 season playing for the Metropolitans 92 under-21 team. 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. Coulibaly submitted paperwork to enter the 2023 NBA draft.

Washington Wizards (2023–present)

2023–2024: Rookie Year The

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...

selected Coulibaly with the seventh overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft and traded his rights to the

for two future second-round picks and the draft rights to Jarace Walker. On July 2nd, 2023, he signed with the Wizards. He joined Washington during the

2023 NBA Summer League The 2023 NBA Summer League (branded as '' NBA 2K24'' Summer League 2023 for sponsorship reasons) was an off-season competition held by the National Basketball Association (NBA) primarily at the Thomas and Mack Center and Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, ...

and ended the four games averaging 12.3 points per game and 4.8 rebounds per game. 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

. Shortly after, on October 30, in a game against the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

, Coulibaly would become the youngest player in Wizards franchise history to start a game at just 19 years and 96 days. Coulibaly recorded his first double-double with Washington in a December 8 game against the

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The t ...

, where he scored 11 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. 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.

French national team

Coulibaly played for the France national under-18 team in the

2022 FIBA U18 European Championship The 2022 FIBA U18 European Championship was the 37th edition of the European basketball championship for national under-18 teams. It was played from 30 July to 7 August 2022 in İzmir, Turkey. Spain men's national under-18 basketball team won the ...

. He averaged 7.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, and one assist over seven games as France finished in fifth place. Coulibaly played with the national team at the

, eventually finishing with the silver medal after losing to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in the finals.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

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References

External links

NBA profileLNB profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coulibaly, Bilal 2004 births Basketball players at the 2024 Summer Olympics Black French sportspeople French expatriate basketball people in the United States French men's basketball players French sportspeople of Malian descent Indiana Pacers draft picks Living people Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics Metropolitans 92 players NBA players from France Olympic basketball players for France Olympic medalists in basketball Olympic silver medalists for France Small forwards Sportspeople from Courbevoie Sportspeople from Saint-Cloud Washington Wizards players