The Washington Wizards up-and-coming star Bilal Coulibaly hopes to have a spot in the French national team this summer. Coulibaly has been one of the few shining spots in the Washington Wizards this season and he wants to help his country succeed in the 2024 Olympics that they are taking place in Paris.
The Wizards’ rookie saw his season coming to end with 14 games remaining due to a fracture in his right wrist. The French forward has his wrist in a hard cast, but he will be ready to compete in the Olympics if he is to be selected by Vincent Collet.
“I will, for sure, try to be on the team,” Coulibaly said per Josh Robbins of The Athletic. (h/t Eurohoops) “But, yeah, we’ll see. I mean, coaches make their choices, and I totally respect it. So, yeah, we’ll see.”
Coulibaly has yet to make his debut with France NT, but he’s one of the most polished talents in his country alongside Victor Wembanyama. The two youngsters played together last season in Metropolitans 92 and they entered the league together in the 2023 NBA Draft.
Bilal Coulibaly was selected 7th overall, 6 spots away from his teammate Victor Wembanyama. His presence became almost immediately a point of interest in the rebuilding Washington Wizards as he appeared in 63 games starting 15 of them. He ended up averaging 8.4 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 27.3 minutes per game.
Time for France to inject some youth in their core roster with Bilal Coulibaly?
Wembanyama is expected to be part of the Paris 2024 squad if he remains healthy, but Coulibaly’s presence is not a sure thing considering that they are veteran wings that could make their final appearance with France NT like Nicolas Batum or Evan Fournier.
That said, Bilal Coulibaly’s length and defensive capability can be used, especially against the main competitors like the USA and Germany.
Coulibaly appeared to guard the opposing best player in many occasions this season, but the Wizards’ winning percentage has been so bad that most of the fans did not notice his improvement through the year.
When Vincent Collet was asked about integrating young talent to the team last January, he hinted that he wanted both Wemby and Coulibaly in the squad during last summer’s Basketball World Cup.
“It’s never too early to integrate talented young people who should settle with the A. It’s the process. And I remind you that last summer we intended to take Victor Wembanyama, or even Bilal Coulibaly, to the World Cup.”
France is set to face tough opponents in the preliminary round. More specifically, Germany, Japan, and the winner of the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Riga are set to go against the hosts in Group B of the preliminary phase.
