Bilal Coulibaly and Victor Wembanyama are not the first players from France to get drafted in the NBA, but it still feels as though the French are finally coming. Coulibaly made sure to underscore that notion when he said that French players are coming to the league during an interview on draft night.

Wembanyama was unsurprisingly got taken first overall at the 2023 NBA Draft by the San Antonio Spurs. Coulibaly would later hear his name come out of the mouth of NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, as the Indiana Pacers selected him seventh overall. The Pacers, however, agreed to trade their No. 7 pick Bilal Coulibaly to the Wizards for Washington's No. 8 pick. The Wizards are also reportedly sending a pair of second-round picks to the Pacers as part of the transaction.

Most basketball fans would associate Bilal Coulibaly with the fact that he was Victor Wembanyama's teammate with the Metropolitan 92 last season. That said, Coulibaly is an exceptional player on his own. The 6-8 forward has a great floor and expansive ceiling which the Wizards hope that he'll realize with the team. Coulibaly averaged 10 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.5 steals per game last season with Metropolitan, while also shooting 53.2 percent from the field.

Indeed, the NBA has become a global league, with players from countries outside of the United States and the continent getting more and more talented, which perhaps can't be stressed any further by the fact that the last five winners of the NBA Most Valuable Player Award are international players.