The basketball “robber” of the year: Bilal Coulibaly, no one saw him coming

During the end-of-year holidays, the sports editorial team of Le Figaro brings you a series on the “robbers” of the sports year, these personalities or entities not necessarily expected and who have been talked about in 2023. Today, Bilal Coulibaly .

To find the basketball “robber” of the year 2023, you don’t need to look too far. Bilal Coulibaly started last season with the Boulogne-Levallois Espoirs team, with few expectations around him. And certainly not that of establishing himself as an indisputable starter among the Mets, vice-champions of France. Obviously, all eyes were on Victor Wembanyama, but the young (19 year old) French winger quickly found his place in the sun, to everyone's surprise. Including that of Vincent Collet, who had not imagined such a trajectory for his player. The spotlight on “Wemby” was useful to the native of Saint-Cloud, that’s clear. Especially since his illustrious teammate did not fail to promote him. But quite honestly, Bilal Coulibaly doesn't need anyone to draw attention to him, his qualities, what he can bring to the basketball court.

The Washington scouts fell under the spell by selecting him in seventh place in the last Draft (via Indiana), which would have been a record for a Frenchman without Wembanyama. And since ? Same thing as in Boulogne-Levallois. Arriving on tiptoe, Coulibaly made his mark over the weeks. Here he is now a starter with the Wizards, with more than 25 minutes per game and nearly 9 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists.

“I feel at home in Washington, I’m comfortable. Nothing to say. I am very well integrated. It’s cool,” the person smiled again recently, on beIN SPORTS. We saw that. “At the start of last season, who would have thought he could be a major player on an NBA team? Person. In any case, certainly not me, laughs beIN consultant Chris Singleton, for Le Figaro. He has this profile that the NBA likes, fast, vertical, running, and he joined the right team and with the right mentality. He knew how to make himself indispensable first and foremost on the defensive level. He didn't come into the NBA at all saying "I want to be like (Kyle) Kuzma" or whoever else and score points. Its value is that, and it went very well in terms of integration. And there, we put him in the major five, he has a lot of playing time and it's a great success for him, a good surprise. A divine surprise. And it's probably not over given the room for improvement of this kid who we see progressing from match to match, from week to week.

“Unfortunately, you sometimes have to pay the price to get playing time. In this case, he plays in a bad team,” continues Singleton, referring to these “catastrophic” Wizards but noting that Coulibaly “has the right approach, he does his job, he highlights himself particularly defensively and gradually, he puts his nose to the window in scoring. He gains credibility with each release!”. The United States is under its spell.

Like “Wemby”, who also has a series of defeats with San Antonio, Bilal Coulibaly is patient. “I don't like losing but as I often say, it's a team in reconstruction. It will take time but we are a young and talented team. When we understand what we are missing, we will be really good,” he swears. One thing is certain for Chris Singleton: the singular trajectory and express progression of the Ile-de-France winger show “that he is a player who learns quickly, who knows how to analyze what it takes to be in the movement. He continues to work, strengthening his weak points and building on his strong points. It’s the right recipe.”

A recipe which could well open the doors of the French team to Bilal Coulibaly. And this from next summer. Vincent Collet does not hide the fact that he had already thought about him for the World Cup last summer, before making other choices. For the Paris Olympic Games, the situation will most likely be different. And no one would be surprised to see this winger in Swiss army knife mode being part of the party in Lille and Paris. In any case, Coulibaly is not shy when it comes to talking about the big Blues. "My goals ? Individually, continue to improve, and collectively, I hope we will start winning. Afterwards, there are other goals like the Olympics… In the back of my mind? Of course. That would be cool". From there to imagining that Coulibaly will be in the race for our “title” of “robber” of 2024, there is only one step.