Bilal Coulibaly is the 19 year old Mets teammate of Spurs revolutionary big man Victor Wembanyama. Wemby was quoted as saying that Bilal was “undoubtedly a top 5 pick.” That may have caused some to raise their eyebrows, but 11 games into the season, Bilal has validated that claim by Victor. Here is where Bilal ranks when it comes to some traditional stats amongst rookies:

1. Top 6 in minutes per game behind: Ausar Thompson, Chet Holmgren, Victor Wembanyama, Jordan Hawkins, and Brandon Miller
2. Top 9 in points per game behind: Wembanyama, Holmgren, Hawkins, Miller, Thompson, Sasser, Jaquez Jr, and Sasser.
3. Top 7 in rebounds per game behind: Thompson, Wembanyama, Holmgren, Lively II, Camara, and Miller.
4. Top 9 in assists per game behind: George, Thompson, Sasser, Micic, Holmgren, Wembanyama, Jaquez Jr, and Podziemski
5. Top 3 in steals per game behind: Thompson and Jaquez Jr.
6. Top 5 in blocks per game behind: Wembanyama, Holmgren, Thompson, and Lively II
7. Top 7 in 3P% behind: Miller, Pickett, Wallace, Ford, Micic, and Smith Jr.
8. Top 5 in defensive rebounding behind: Wembanyama, Thompson, Holmgren, and Lively I

Now for the Advanced Stats:

1. Top 4 in Defensive Win Shares behind: Holmgren, Camara, and Podziemski
2. Top 4 in TS% behind: Wallace, Lively II, and and Holmgen.
3. Top 6 in Value added behind: Lively II, Thompson, Sasser, Wallace, and Jaquez Jr.
4. Top 6 in Estimated Wins added behind: Lively II, Thompson, Sasser, Wallace, and Jaquez Jr.
5. Top 8 in Deflections behind: Wembanyama, Thompson, Jaquez Jr., Wallace, Camara, Vezenkov, and Miller
6. He is doing all this while being 44th in USG% !!

If this wasn’t enough to convince you of his elite two way ability as a rookie and him being a top 5 rookie thus far, let’s look at the progression that he has made since has come into the league. Bilal is a quick learner and has improved every game has stepped out on the floor. These are his statlines the first 10 games:

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You can see the clear progress that he has made in the last 4 games compared to the first 5 games. He took a couple games to get adjusted to the speed of the NBA, and type of physicality and type of play at the highest level, but once that was done, he has started to take leaps forward in every game since then. He starts with the game against CHA where he puts up 10 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 assist. This is the foundation for the next 3 games in each of which he sets a career high. The BKN game is his career high where he scores 20 points on 4-7 from deep. The biggest criticism of the 19 year old coming into the league was not being able to shoot, but in the last 5 games he has shown that his jumper is more than serviceable. He is shooting a blistering 47% from deep. His shot mechanics look incredibly fluid. It is much improved from his days with the mets. Look at this video from when he was with the Mets: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5aePwsAuB8.

This is much improved now. This goes to show this kid’s work ethic. Look at the BKN game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9SsCMGEOB4

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One of the keys to success in this league is the ability to get better ever single time you’re out there and he seems to be doing that early on. He’s working his tail off to get better. If becoming a decent shooter and addressing your number 1 concern as a prospect wasn’t enough, he also got 7 rebounds twice and then 8 rebounds his last game. He’s emerging as an under the radar favorite to lead the Wizards in rebounding because of their lack of bigs. His length and unique fit as a combo wing allows him to be in the right spots to snag up rebounds (especially defensive rebounds).

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It has only been 11 games, but the future looks bright for the kid from France. He is an early favorite to be on the All-Rookie teams. He will undoubtedly be a player that people will look back on at the end of this season, and say “he was much better than we expected.” The key to this kid’s success has been his impact on BOTH ends of the floor. Many of the rookies have done great on either offense or defense, but he has managed to be impactful on both ends of the floor as a player coming off the BENCH. His impact in limited minutes is nothing short of impressive. Most of the people he was trailing in the stats are full time starters and the first, second, or third option on their respective teams. He is undoubtedly a diamond in the rough.

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