Inside The Wizards

Bilal Coulibaly Shines in Wizards Loss

Washington Wizards guard Bilal Coulibaly is making some noise this season.

Jeremy Brener

Dec 13, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Washington Wizards guard Bilal Coulibaly (0) drives to the basket against Cleveland Cavaliers forward Dean Wade (32) during the first quarter at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
Dec 13, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Washington Wizards guard Bilal Coulibaly (0) drives to the basket against Cleveland Cavaliers forward Dean Wade (32) during the first quarter at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
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Washington Wizards guard Bilal Coulibaly is bouncing back after a rough stretch of basketball, and the four days off before their game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday was a massive help for the second-year pro out of France.

“I needed that,” Coulibaly said. "Just to get in the gym, having the time to get in the gym and shoot the ball a lot, so yeah I needed this. We all needed this because we played pretty good today.”

Coulibaly's time off really showed in the box score. He scored a season-high 27 points in the Wizards' 115-105 loss, but his efforts kept the team in the contest throughout most of the first three quarters.

“I know that everybody believes In me, in the team teammates wise coaches wise, so it was just myself," Coulibaly said. "[I] just had to get that confidence back by getting some shots up to work and that's what I did.”

Coulibaly made 10 of 18 shots from the field, marking the second time in his career that he's connected on double-digit field goals.

While Coulibaly benefitted from the time off and belief from his teammates, he also had some help from head coach Brian Keefe drawing up the right plays for him.

“BK set great plays for me to get downhill and everything so I just saw the open lanes for real when I went to the rim and  teammates were finding me,” Coulibaly said. “I just had to knock down my shots.”

When Coulibaly is able to execute a plan, things work out tremendous for him. As a 20-year-old, consistency may not always be there, but the talent shows that he is certainly a player that the Wizards should be building their team around.

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Jeremy Brener
JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.

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