Washington Wizards wing Bilal Coulibaly underwent surgery Friday morning in New York City to repair a ligament tear in his right thumb, team officials said.
The 21-year-old suffered the injury while playing for France during EuroBasket.
Coulibaly had felt discomfort in his right thumb during portions of the tournament, prompting him to have his thumb taped for several games. Coulibaly then aggravated the injury on Sept. 7, during France’s elimination loss to the Republic of Georgia in the Round of 16. In that defeat, Coulibaly, who is right-handed, missed all three of his shots from the field and was held scoreless.
The Wizards are scheduled to open their training camp on Sept. 30 in Washington.
Players with similar injuries typically require six weeks from the time of their surgery to return to full basketball activities. Still, Coulibaly’s recovery timeline could differ and could prevent him from being ready to play in Washington’s regular-season opener on Oct. 22.
In an unfortunate coincidence, Coulibaly is the third Wizards player since October 2024 to suffer a thumb ligament tear and require corrective surgery. Malcolm Brogdon tore a ligament in his right thumb during a training-camp practice in October in Montreal and played his first game for the Wizards on Nov. 17. Corey Kispert tore a ligament in his left thumb on March 15 and missed the remainder of the season.
Alex Sarr, another Wizards player, suffered a left calf injury during his time with France in EuroBasket.
This season is expected to be a pivotal one for Coulibaly, a former seventh overall pick who is set to enter his third year in the NBA.
Although he has demonstrated his ability to be a formidable multi-positional defender, he has yet to prove that he will consistently make a difference on offense. After he made 35 percent of his 3-pointers as a rookie, his percentage from beyond the arc declined last season to 28 percent as the Wizards placed him in a larger offensive role.
Coulibaly’s rookie season was cut short by a fracture to his right wrist. His second season ended prematurely after he suffered a right hamstring strain. Both of those injuries occurred in mid-March.
(Photo of Bilal Coulibaly: Wojtek Radwanski / AFP via Getty Images)
Sep 13, 2025
Connections: Sports Edition
Spot the pattern. Connect the terms
Find the hidden link between sports terms
Play today’s puzzle