Wizards Guard Named Early Candidate for Most Improved

The Washington Wizards could have an award winner on their hands.

Jeremy Brener | Nov 6, 2024

[US, Mexico & Canada customers only] Nov 2, 2024; Mexico City, MEXICO; Washington Wizards player Bilal Coulibaly in action with Miami Heat player Jimmy Butler during a NBA basketball game at Arena CDMX. Mandatory Credit: Henry Romero/Reuters via Imagn Images / Henry Romero/Reuters via Imagn Images

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Washington Wizards

Washington Wizards guard Bilal Coulibaly has been on a tear to begin his second season in the NBA.

The No. 7 overall pick from the 2023 NBA Draft has been stellar so far this season, emerging as a potential option for the Wizards to build around in the long run.

HoopsHype writer Mike Shearer believes that Coulibaly could be an early contender for the league's Most Improved Player award.

"Second-year players should not be eligible for the Most Improved Player award, but Coulibaly deserves at least a look," Shearer writes. "The young Frenchman has upped his scoring from 8.4 to 19.4 points per game and his eFG% from 50.9 percent to a blinding 69.6 percent. He’s Washington’s best defender, to boot. Even those of us who were high on Coulibaly’s potential before this season (and I was, very, very high) never saw this coming in our wildest dreams. Yes, he’ll miss some shots eventually, but the fact that he’s even capable of extended stretches like this is very encouraging for a Washington team just beginning its rebuild in earnest."

It's clear that having a full offseason under his belt has helped Coulibaly. It's also possible that his experience in the Olympics could have also led to his early-season emergence.

With Coulibaly enjoying a lot of success early in the year, the Wizards will continue to give him the green light all season long. This year is about developing the young core of the Wizards, including Coulibaly, and the team couldn't be happier with the young Frenchman's progress so far.

Perhaps the most promising fact about Coulibaly is that he is only 20 years old, and if he has had this kind of jump from Year 1 to Year 2, he should have a high ceiling when he gets to his prime.

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Published Nov 6, 2024

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.