By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Bilal Coulibaly underwent surgery to repair a ligament tear in his right thumb, the Washington Wizards announced on Friday.
The 21-year-old shooting guard was injured during an international assignment with France in EuroBasket 2025.
Following the surgical procedure in New York City, he was officially sidelined indefinitely and is expected to miss time into the 2025-26 NBA Regular Season, according to ESPN senior NBA insider Shams Charania.
The Paris native went for 6.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 0.7 blocks, 0.5 steals, and 0.5 assists per contest over six appearances until elimination in the Round of 16 of the ongoing EuroBasket tournament. After topping Group D behind a 4-1 tally in Katowice, Poland, Les Bleus fell to Georgia in the first round of the knockout stage.
Coulibaly returned to the senior national team of France for a second straight offseason, following his debut with a silver medal in the Paris Olympic Games 2024 in a reunion with former Metropolitans 92 teammate Victor Wembanyama. In earlier junior experience, he was capped in the FIBA U18 European Championship 2022.
In 2023, he was selected with the seventh overall pick of the annual NBA draft by the Indiana Pacers and immediately traded to the Wizards. Displaying his talents in the league over the last two years, he logged 122 appearances, including 59 in the 2024-25 journey, with 12.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game until a season-ending right hamstring strain in March.
Photo Credit: FIBA