Wizards’ Bilal Coulibaly To Make Season Debut Against Thunder

Washington Wizards forward Bilal Coulibaly has been cleared to make his 2025-26 season debut. Wizards head coach Brian Keefe said Wednesday that Coulibaly will be available for Thursday’s road game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Bilal Coulibaly Entering Third NBA Season

Coulibaly was immediately traded by the Indiana Pacers after he was selected seventh overall in the 2023 NBA draft. The 6-foot-8 wing has spent the past two seasons of his pro career with the Wizards.

Per ESPN’s Shams Charania, Coulibaly underwent surgery last month to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb. He suffered that injury while playing for the French national team at EuroBasket and missed the entire preseason, in addition to the first four games of the regular season.

Bilal Coulibaly speaks to media ahead of his season debut:

– feels like he’s in great shape
– worked a lot on his left hand
– says the team could put more pressure on ballhandlers, which he can provide

Also said he’ll wear the wrap on his hand for a good part of the season. https://t.co/hIRXUkMFoI pic.twitter.com/A0dvB2fjRv

— Bijan Todd (@bijan_todd) October 29, 2025

Coulibaly was a full-time starter for the Wizards last season, averaging career highs of 12.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.3 steals, and 33 minutes per contest in 59 games.

Through four games of the regular season, Washington has been using a starting five of Bub Carrington, CJ McCollum, Kyshawn George, Khris Middleton, and Alex Sarr.

It’s unclear whether Keefe plans to move Coulibaly into the starting lineup. The 21-year-old could potentially come off the bench like he did during his rookie 2023-24 season.

Wizards Could Move Coulibaly To Second Unit

Based on how well George is playing right now, Coulibaly might start his third season as a reserve.

As a full-time starter, George is averaging career highs of 20.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.3 steals, 1.5 blocks, and 33 minutes while shooting career bests of 53.7% from the field and 53.8% from 3-point range.

Per Spotrac, Coulibaly is one of six Washington players signed to contracts that include a rookie-scale team option for 2026-27. The Wizards have until Friday’s deadline to make decisions on those options.

Wizards forward Kyshawn George has set a new career-high with 26 points in tonight’s game versus Dallas (previously 24, Jan. 16, 2025 vs. Phoenix).#ForTheDistrict

— Wizards PR (@WizPRStats) October 25, 2025

Washington is 1-3 after four games to start the 2205-26 season.

Last season, the Wizards started 2-2 before going on a 16-game losing streak. They went on to finish 18-64 and 15th in the Eastern Conference standings.

Brian Keefe, who served as the interim head coach the previous season following the firing of Wes Unseld Jr., was named the 26th head coach in Wizards franchise history in May 2024.