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Bilal Coulibaly is ready for a ‘once-in-a-lifetime moment’ at the Olympics

After his rookie season with the Wizards was cut short by injury, Coulibaly is healthy and was selected this week to play for France at the Paris Games.

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Bilal Coulibaly was officially selected to the French national team this week and will participate in the Paris Olympics. (John McDonnell/The Washington Post)
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Right after one of the biggest achievements of his basketball career, Bilal Coulibaly’s mind turned to his family.

Growing up in the suburbs of Paris, the Washington Wizards guard and his father used to watch various Olympic events — basketball, of course, but also track. Now, at 19 years old, Coulibaly had received an Olympic opportunity of his own, earning a spot on the French national team for the upcoming Paris Games. When he learned of his selection in a text message, he immediately called his parents, both to celebrate the news and to settle their nerves.

“They were so stressed about [the roster announcement], so I had to calm them down,” Coulibaly said this week from his hotel room in Lyon, where France will host an exhibition game against Serbia on Friday. “… They were proud, so happy. My mom was yelling. That was a cool moment."

Following a rookie season with the Wizards in which he averaged 8.4 points and 4.1 rebounds and flashed high-level defensive potential, Coulibaly was one of 12 players named this week to a strong French roster that could challenge the United States’ bid for a fifth consecutive gold medal in men’s basketball. The precocious wing is the youngest member of a squad loaded with NBA talent, including reigning rookie of the year Victor Wembanyama, four-time defensive player of the year Rudy Gobert and league veterans Nicolas Batum, Evan Fournier and Frank Ntilikina.

The selection is an opportunity for Coulibaly to represent his country at its home Olympics. The tournament’s group stage, which pits France against Brazil, Japan and Germany, begins July 27 in Lille, approximately three hours north of Coulibaly’s hometown of Courbevoie. Starting with the quarterfinal round, the tournament moves to Paris. Coulibaly’s parents and two sisters plan to be in attendance each step of the way.

“[It’s] so special,” said Coulibaly, who turns 20 on July 26, the same day as the Opening Ceremonies. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime moment. … I’m just proud of it and really honored to be one of the players who are playing in Paris.”

Coulibaly’s promising first season with the Wizards ended March 16, when he fractured his right wrist against the Chicago Bulls. Coulibaly said his recovery progressed well, and he is playing without restrictions. The French team is in the middle of a swing of six exhibition games leading up to the start of the Olympics.

Those games have marked Coulibaly’s return to the court while also serving as a reunion with Wembanyama. The childhood friends were teammates with Metropolitans 92 in France’s top professional league before they entered the NBA as part of the 2023 draft class.

The 7-foot-4 Wembanyama has blossomed into one of the most dynamic two-way talents in the league. He averaged 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.6 blocks and 1.2 steals in his rookie season with the San Antonio Spurs.

“I forgot how easy it was to play with him,” Coulibaly said. “... Even with the friendly games, he’s been doing his thing, I’ve been doing my thing. We just complement each other very well.”

Wembanyama and Gobert, both 7-footers, along with the 6-8 Coulibaly on the wing, give France a formidable defensive identity as it pursues its first Olympic gold. It faces stiff competition from a heavily favored U.S. team featuring LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. Canada, led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Serbia, starring three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokić, are also among the teams expected to contend for medals.

The French are looking to build off their showing at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, when they defeated the United States during the group stage but followed with an 87-82 loss to the Americans in the gold medal game. France settled for its third silver medal and first since 2000.

Coulibaly was 17 at the time. He remembers the gold medal matchup as the game every young French basketball player was watching. Now he is eying a rematch.

“I wish we could change that [result] this year,” Coulibaly said. “... I’m focused on our group for the moment, but if we pass on [from the group stage], I’ll be thinking about the [United] States. Like I can’t wait to meet them, you know?”

Coulibaly said the Olympic experience has already been helpful to his development. Besides getting a chance to play alongside Wembanyama and Gobert, he has been mentored by Ntilikina and four-time Olympian Nando de Colo.

With France expected to make it out of Group B, the Olympics could also be an opportunity for Coulibaly to experience playing in high-stakes games against fierce competition.

“You’re playing against the best players in the world, so it only can help [your development],” Coulibaly said. “The rules are a little different, [Olympics] and NBA, but it’s still basketball. Just playing against the greatest players [from] each country, playing for the best coaches … you can only get better.”

Wizards sign veteran Saddiq Bey

The Wizards announced Friday that they signed veteran forward Saddiq Bey. According to an ESPN report this week, the deal is for three years and $20 million.

Bey, 25, is entering his fifth NBA season after spending time with the Detroit Pistons and the Atlanta Hawks.

The 6-7, 215-pound forward, who was a first-round pick in 2020 out of Villanova, averaged 13.7 points and 6.5 rebounds for the Hawks last season before he suffered a torn ACL on March 10.

Bey was raised in Largo and played for DeMatha and Sidwell Friends.