Inside The Wizards

Wizards Guard Building Up Confidence

Bilal Coulibaly has more confidence in his second season with the Washington Wizards.

Jeremy Brener

Oct 28, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; An Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) drives to the basket against Washington Wizards guard Bilal Coulibaly (0) during the second half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
Oct 28, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; An Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) drives to the basket against Washington Wizards guard Bilal Coulibaly (0) during the second half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
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Washington Wizards second-year pro Bilal Coulibaly has grown a lot over the past 18 months.

Since being taken with the No. 7 overall pick by the Wizards in the 2023 NBA Draft, Coulibaly has played against the best players in the world both in the league and in the Paris Olympics this past summer, allowing him to grow.

Those experience have certainly paid off early in the season, as he is averaging 18.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game so far through four games. Considering he was averaging just over eight points last season, Coulibaly has taken a massive step in the right direction.

He credits his growth in confidence as a reason behind his early-season success.

“I feel like (confidence) is the main thing,” Coulibaly said via Wizards reporter Varun Shankar of The Washington Post. “Basketball is, for me, probably 60 percent basketball skills and 40 percent confidence. ... I’m really confident right now, and I’m playing well.”

Not only is Coulibaly confident in himself, but he has the backing of Wizards head coach Brian Keefe, who has had the chance to see his development from his rookie year to now up close and personal.

“We want to put the ball in his hands more,” Keefe said.“We think he’s a play-maker, he can get on the rim, he forces a lot of pressure.”

Numbers and history suggest Coulibaly will cool off at some point and regress to the mean. However, his ceiling appears to be higher than it was last year, and that should have the Wizards excited about what's to come.

Coulibaly is only 20-years-old, so he has a long time to continue his development, and if he stays on this trajectory, he could become the best player on the Wizards' roster in short order.

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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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