Bilal Coulibaly's selection in the 2023  Draft raised eyebrows in the basketball world. He was known as the facilitator for Metropolitans 92 and the most reliable teammate of Victor Wembanyama. His LNB Pro A stint proved that he was worthy of a shot in the big league. Coulibaly has proven exactly that and then some in the Washington Wizards' decimation of Cairns Taipans in their NBA Preseason game. His teammates loved how he hounded and hustled on defense. No one enjoyed it more than Kyle Kuzma.

“Yea @Bilaal_6 can defend,” was the immediate reaction that Kyle Kuzma wrote on his X account after the Wizards won against Cairns Taipans.

Bilal Coulibaly had his eyes set on grabbing the ball at every opportunity that he got. The Wizards rookie may have only notched five points but his three steals suffocated the opposing ball handler. His height and athleticism also allowed him to meet the ball at the apex to record a block. He made sure to close out possessions well and grabbed six rebounds in 20 minutes of action.

Flashes of elite playmaking and court vision were also on display. He saw the open man a lot of times in the matchup and dropped three dimes.

Kuzma, on the other hand, took a lot of the offensive load but did it efficiently. The Wizards star got 22 points on an insanely good 70% field goal shooting percentage.  This team looks ready to compete and their NBA Preseason dominance showed exactly that. Will we see them compete for a play-in spot come next summer?