Bilal Coulibaly celebrated in defense against Giannis Antetokounmpo

Deprived of his friend Alexander Sara, Bilal Coulibaly approached this duel against Bucks with a clear mission: to slow down Giannis Antetokounmpo. It is obviously not the easiest challenge in the NBA, but in the second quarter he stands out with a counter on the Greek, the hundredth in his young career. His evening, however, was much more complicated on the other side of the field: he had not yet scored a single point at halftime…

After returning from the locker room, the Frenchman still gains momentum. Ten seconds from the buzzer, with the Wizards up by four points but the Bucks in possession, he intercepted a pass from Myles Turner to Giannis Antetokounmpo. And on the counterattack, the Olympic runner-up rushes into a dunk and is pinned by the two-time MVP, who in the process commits his sixth foul, synonymous with expulsion.

BILAL COULIBALY STEALS AND HITS GIANNIS TO DECLARE HIM pic.twitter.com/25zKMVjJLKS

— WizardsMuse (@WizardsMuse1) December 2, 2025

The latter act particularly pleased his coach Brian Keefe, who replayed it in the dressing room after the match to highlight Bilal Coulibaly’s influence: “This guy didn’t have a point at halftime, but he dominated the game with his defense” explains the coach.

Congratulations from your coach!

At the press conferenceThe Wizards coach continued the praise: “He made important actions at the end of the match, but he also did some of the starts. We were 3/19 from 3-pointers, but that didn’t stop us from defending. Sometimes in the NBA, to win a game, you have to hold on, and we did it with defense. Bilal was at the forefront of everything, without any hesitation.”

Giannis Antetokounmpo finished the game with 26 points and 7 rebounds, which is below his standards as the “Greek Freak” averaged 30.6 points and 10.7 rebounds. average this season. But above all, he lost 5 balls and thus made 6 errors.

For his part, Bilal Coulibaly has discreet stats (7 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals and 1 block in 32 minutes), but he is essential to allow the Wizards to get their third win of the season.

“This morning the staff just told me to do whatever I want but to stop it”Bilal Coulibaly explains quietly about his duel with Giannis Antetokounmpo. “So I did what I wanted to do. It was easy to do what I know how to do and the guys communicated really well. Marvin (Bagley) did a good job as well. We were able to make changes, he defended as well, and he was very good.”

How to read statistics? MJ = matches played; Min = Minute; Shots = Shots Successful / Shots Attempted; 3 points = 3 points / attempt 3 points; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive jump; Tot = Total number of jumps; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal mistakes; Int = intercepts; Bp = lost balls; Ct: Against; Points = Points.