Wizards sophomore Bilal Coulibaly is the best breakout player everyone is ignoring

Largely overlooked by the rest of the league, Washington Wizards sophomore Bilal Coulibaly is having an impressive breakout season in his sophomore year.

The Washington Wizards drafted Bilal Coulibaly with the expectation that he would develop into a player who could be viewed as a foundational building block. The organization has rolled the dice on the likes of such stars before when they drafted John Wall, Bradley Beal, and Deni Avdija, but none of those players could elevate the team to contender status. Even though the Wizards are expected to be a work in progress, Coulibaly has played well enough early on to be in contention for Most Improved Player.

There is a recognizable difference in his numbers from last season compared to this year. During his rookie campaign, Coulibaly averaged 8.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.7 assists while playing 27.2 minutes per game. In a small sample size so far this season, Coulibaly is averaging 16.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.7 assists in 34.8 minutes per game. That is a tremendous uptick in statistics, especially from a player who is transitioning from his rookie season.

Bilal Coulibaly's confidence is the biggest development

Coulibaly has displayed more confidence as he now is sometimes responsible for bringing the ball up the floor and creating his own shot. He is a no-nonsense type of player who has shown flashes of potential on both ends of the floor. His ceiling will depend upon his development and how the coaching staff plans to utilize him as he should begin to earn more of their trust if he can sustain his current level of play. On the defensive end, his length and ability to recover are incredible as he has such a huge wingspan with great anticipation and good awareness.

Coulibaly has shown great effort, focus, and discipline on defense to be such a young player as he obviously possesses the physical traits to become an elite shutdown defender. He has already improved way faster than anyone expected, and the fact that he has matured so quickly means that it would push the Wizards' timeline forward for them to start contending among the top teams in the East.

The Wizards are a young team who is beginning to play more through Coulibaly as he appears to have the go-ahead to attempt more shots and be more aggressive with the ball. His 3-point shot is solid as he is currently shooting 37.5 percent in nine games. Coulibaly is also efficient from midrange and can also score baskets off of putbacks and in transition. He scored a career-high 27 points against the Atlanta Hawks which was his second time setting a career-high mark in points this season and it's very likely he will end up surpassing that mark again.

Coulibaly is essentially viewed as a long-term piece considering how the Wizards are constructing and building their roster as his archetype will help him fit in as a 3 & D wing. When asked about the work he put in during the offseason, Coulibaly mentioned all of the aspects of his game he worked on over the summer.

"Even during the Olympics, I was working out a lot. Because I was not playing that much, I had the time to work out. I really focused on my handle, my catch-and-shoot. Even after that I took a little break, but I got right back at it and it feels like I'm better now."

- Bilal Coulibaly

The Wizards are not projected to win many games due to their youth and inexperience on the roster. There are some changes expected to be made to this team but they have a good player to begin the process with Coulibaly, no matter what the rest of the young core looks like so far this season.