Now that the NBA season has reached its halfway point, even through tough stints for the Washington Wizards, their young core has shown signs of growth.
Rookie guard Bilal Coulibaly has been a bright spot throughout an adversity-filled season for the team. In the Wizards last ten games he has averaged 9.5 points, 4.4 rebounds, and was recently selected to the 2024 Panini Rising Stars Roster as a part of this year’s NBA All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis.
Interim Coach Brian Keefe has been thrilled with Coulibaly’s development throughout the season, especially on the defensive side of the court. I asked Coach. Keefe what has gone into Coulibaly’s steady development this season during the pre-game press conference before the Wizards hosted the Philadelphia 76ers on Feb. 10.
“He has grown, by each month, each week” Keefe said. “We put him out there and have him guard the best players, while also putting him in different situations offensively, and he keeps taking it in stride and growing from each game. The work he does behind the scenes is why he has shown this growth and we expect that for the rest of the year.”
Gaining Notoriety
Coulibaly would only score four points in his first rising stars game in eight minutes played, however it still served as a chance for the young rookie to gain some notoriety on a national stage.
With Coulibaly being a French native, he was reunited with his ex-teammate, Victor Wembanyama, who he played with last season on Metropolitans 92 of the French League. “I loved it. Even though we lost, it was a great time just meeting new people and having fun on the court with my ex teammate, Wemby, and everything,” Coulibaly said during the Rising Stars postgame press conference. “So, yeah, it was just a lot of fun.”
Fourth-year player Deni Avdija has shown some growth as well, averaging 13.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 3.3 assists this season. Avdija is also coming off a career-high 43 points against the New Orleans Pelicans on Feb. 14.
More for Avdija
The Wizards coaching staff has been putting Avdija in positions to expand his game on both sides of the court. The team knows they need Avdija to be an all around player night in and night out if they’re going to be successful in the future.
“Deni has shown tremendous growth here in the last seven, six, eight games,” Keefe said during their postgame press conference after losing to the 76ers. ”We have him guarding multiple guys. He’s playmaking and attacking. I’m trusting him to make decisions with the ball and attack the rim, and I like that his rebounding has been high the last few games… that’s what we need from him.”
It seems like the Wizards young stars are primed to keep improving once the All star break ends. Once the break concludes, the Wizards will resume play at home against the Nuggets on Feb. 22.
Article featured image courtesy of Branson Brooks.