How Washington Wizards Bilal Coulibaly Is Besting San Antonio Spurs Victor Wembanyama

They may be former teammates and friends, but through six weeks Bilal Coulibaly's Washington Wizards are besting the San Antonio Spurs and Victor Wembanyama in at least one area.

The Washington Wizards (3-16) didn't get to pick San Antonio Spurs (3-16) forward-center Victor Wembanyama in the most recent NBA Draft, but they got a pretty good young player in his former teammate, guard Bilal Coulibaly.

While the two will need to wait until near the end of January to see each other on an NBA court, the Wizards rookie has a small leg up in the trash-talking department currently, even with their teams having matching three-win records.

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That's because Washington is currently the 28th-ranked team in the latest NBA.com power rankings by John Schuhmann, one spot ahead of the Spurs at No. 29.

It's a shallow win, but at this point, we and the Wizards should be taking any win we and they can get.

Something Schuhmann points out in his analysis of Washington is the fact that it is the NBA team that doesn't have a single player averaging at least 32 minutes per game.

"One beneficiary of the minutes spread has been rookie Bilal Coulibaly who continues to make an impact defensively," Schuhmann wrote. "There were two occasions in Detroit — a block on James Wiseman and an interception of Isaiah Livers — where he helped on the ball and then recovered back to make a big play. The Wizards have allowed 8.7 fewer points per 100 possessions (with a huge differential in opponent turnover rate) with Coulibaly on the floor (115.5) than they have with him off the floor (124.2)."

Washington Wizards guard Bilal Coulibaly (0) controls the ball in front of Detroit Pistons guard Jaden Ivey (23) during the second half at Little Caesars Arena / David Reginek-USA TODAY Sports

Each rookie is making his mark on their respective teams, and Wizards fans are clinging to Coulibaly's continued growth as a beacon of hope while it waits for the franchise to figure out its way forward.

Along with Coulibaly, the team has benefitted from the play of forward Kyle Kuzma who continued his great play when returning home to Detroit with a 32-point performance in the team's most recent win over the Pistons.

Schuhmann also points out that while Kuzma's minutes are down this year compared to last, his 23.6 points and 4.6 assists per game are both career highs.

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Washington hosts the Philadelphia 76ers (12-7) on Wednesday in a game that is sure to lean toward the road team as the favorite but will provide the home crowd another opportunity to see two of its best back on the floor.

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