After a bad season last year, the 2024-25 campaign has not been great for the Washington Wizards either. With a month left in the regular season, the Wizards own a 13-51 record. This is the worst record in the league. While it has looked slightly better for the Wizards since acquiring Khris Middleton and Marcus Smart at last month’s trade deadline, the Wizards still rank as the worst team in the NBA. Unfortunately for them, as if their season was not bad enough already, they recently made a disappointing announcement. According to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto, the Wizards announced that Bilal Coulibaly will miss 4-to-6 weeks due to a right hamstring injury.
Washington Wizards guard Bilal Coulibaly will be out approximately 4-6 weeks with a right hamstring injury, team says.
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) March 13, 2025
Since the Wizards’ season ends in a month, and they have no shot at making a postseason appearance, there is a chance Coulibaly has already played his final game of the season.
Washington Wizards’ Bilal Coulibaly Suffers Injury, May Miss Rest of Season
Bilal Coulibaly Was In the Midst of a Sophomore Jump
After a solid rookie campaign last year, Coulibaly was enjoying an improved sophomore season. Through 59 games (all starts) this season, the French native averaged 12.3 points, 5 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.3 steals. In an upsetting season for the Wizards, Couliably’s progression was a good silver lining.
Last week, Coulibaly spoke about his growth. He cited his work ethic and growing confidence as major reasons for his progression.
“Work a lot and just confidence [have led to that growth],” Coulibaly said echoing Relph’s words. “Confidence from my teammates, confidence from myself, coaches giving me the ball. I know I can create, so it’s just me and my aggressiveness.”
“Physically, it’s just like getting ready, practicing more than you even play in the game,” Coulibaly told RG. “Mentally, talking to the coach, he’d be telling me before games that I’m about to play a lot, so I’m ready. I’d say during the summer, it was a lot of the conditioning. During the season, too. Even when we’re playing 5-on-5, just giving everything and doing everything to get more in shape, I’d say.”
If this is the end of Coulibaly’s second season in the league, Wizards fans will have to wait a little bit to see him back on the court.
The Last Word
Though the Wizards are not likely to make a playoff appearance anytime soon, there is still a lot to like about the team. In addition to Coulibaly, the Wizards have some intriguing young players in Alex Sarr and Bub Carrington. Furthermore, there are reasons to be excited about Middleton and Smart in Washington for a full season. For the rest of the season, it will be interesting to see how the Wizards play without Coulibaly. However, in any case, most of the team’s focus will be shifted to next season, which is when they will look to make strides and inch closer to postseason contention.
© Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images
