There’s a chance Bilal Coulibaly was a bit distracted when he had his picture taken with the French ambassador shortly before tip-off Saturday night at Capital One Arena. The thrill of the challenge ahead had been on his mind for days, if not weeks, so much so that the 19-year-old rookie broke into a grin when asked whether he was able to shut out the thought of the impending matchup with his childhood buddy and focus on anything remotely related to basketball.
“I can’t wait. Fifty minutes now?” Coulibaly said while glancing at a clock in the Washington Wizards’ locker room. “I’m excited. I cannot not think about it. Everyone’s been talking to me about it. We’ve been talking about it like: ‘That was our dream. Now we’re here.’ ”
He had to wait until the fourth quarter of a 131-127 loss to the San Antonio Spurs, but Coulibaly got his not-so-secret wish and matched up with Victor Wembanyama — his friend since he was 11 years old who grew up to be the most hyped NBA sensation in a generation.
It was just for a moment, but the Frenchman in the Wizards jersey handled himself well on defense — despite that, at 6-foot-8, Coulibaly just about reached the 7-4 Wembanyama’s shoulder blades while guarding him. Coulibaly is the rare basketball nut not gobsmacked by his friend’s ability or his quick adjustment to superstardom. Coulibaly has known Wembanyama since they played youth basketball together, and he leaned on him when he was called up to the senior level at their French club, Metropolitans 92, just last season. On draft night in June, they celebrated together with their families.
“He’s been doing his thing. He’s really humble, smart, so he knows how to manage all of that, and he’s got good people around him,” said Coulibaly, who had 14 points and four rebounds Saturday. “It’s easy for him.”
That was Coulibaly’s overarching assessment of Wembanyama as a basketball player — that people underestimate his talent because of how easy he makes things look. He had a putback in the first quarter that looked downright casual — as if, mid-stroll, Wembanyama just happened to find himself at the basket, so he extended his arms and that was that.
All of his six blocks were that way, too — almost nonchalant. On those, though, the sight of his long arm slapping the ball like a fly swatter drew gasps from the crowd each time.
Coulibaly had to give his friend kudos for his play, even as he looked forward to their next matchup Jan. 29 in Texas.
“I can’t wait to win that next game,” he said.
Too often, the Wizards’ shoddy transition defense made things easy for Wembanyama, who helped San Antonio to a 74-66 advantage in points in the paint. The 20-year-old led the Spurs with 24 points; he added eight rebounds and four creative, well-timed assists.
San Antonio (8-34) overcame a 12-point deficit in the fourth quarter to prevail. After Monday’s loss to the Detroit Pistons (4-38), the Wizards (7-34) have suffered losses to two of the worst teams in the NBA in less than a week.
“We’ve been through so many games this year — haven’t changed much,” Kyle Kuzma said when asked what the Wizards need to do to improve. “You know, the answer’s not always play harder. I think lately we’ve been playing pretty hard.”
The Spurs’ Jeremy Sochan, relieved of the point guard duties he handled earlier in the season as part of a Gregg Popovich-concocted experiment and back in a more natural frontcourt position, had 23 points, four rebounds, three assists and two blocks. His fingerprints were all over the game’s decisive moments.
Sochan hit a three-pointer with 53.1 seconds remaining to put the Spurs ahead by one. The Wizards had chances to go ahead, but Wembanyama blocked Tyus Jones on his way to the bucket on the ensuing possession, and Kuzma, driving past three defenders, couldn’t get his floater to fall with less than 30 seconds remaining. With less than 10 seconds to go, Kuzma missed a three-pointer that would have tied it.
“I thought that second group into the third to the middle of the fourth [quarter] really played well,” Wizards Coach Wes Unseld Jr. said. “A lot of energy and pop, trying to bleed some of our starting guys back in. Give the Spurs credit. They made plays on both sides of the ball just enough to come away with it.”
Newly acquired Marvin Bagley III led the Wizards with 21 points while starting for the second straight game in place of center Daniel Gafford, who is out with a concussion. Gafford was on the bench in street clothes Saturday but has progressed enough that he has played some one-on-one and is working to ramp up his activity in advance of a return, Unseld said before the game.
Bagley has filled in aptly. While leading all five starters in double figures in scoring Saturday, he added 12 rebounds. Deni Avdija had 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Corey Kispert added 16 points off the bench.