By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Shut down for the remainder of the 2023-24 NBA Regular Season, Bilal Coulibaly opened up about an opportunity to compete in the Olympic Games in Paris with France this summer.
“I will, for sure, try to be on the team,” he mentioned, relays Josh Robbins of The Athletic, “We will see. I mean, coaches make their choices, and I totally respect it. So, yeah, we will see.”
Coulibaly, 19, has yet to debut at the senior level with Les Bleus. His international experience is limited to the 2022 FIBA U18 European championship, averaging 7.7 points and 3.9 rebounds per game in a fifth-place finish.
Naturally, his former teammate Victor Wembanyama also hopes to be called up by Vincent Collet. Reuniting with Wemby at the highest level of international basketball would be special. Multiple options and more experienced players make fitting in the final squad a complicated task for young promising upstarts, besides recovering from a fractured right wrist.
Coming out of Metropolitans 92 alongside Wembanyama, he was selected with the seventh overall pick of the 2023 NBA draft by the Indiana Pacers and immediately traded to the Washington Wizards. Making his way to 63 appearances, including 15 starts in his rookie NBA campaign, Coulibaly registered 8.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.8 blocks per contest.
Drawn in Group B of the Olympics, France is set to face Germany, Japan, and the winner of the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Riga, in the preliminary round.