The rookie guard suffered the injury during the March 16 contest at Chicago.
Washington Wizards rookie guard Bilal Coulibaly will miss the remainder of the regular season with a right wrist fracture, the team announced.
Official: Bilal Coulibaly will miss the remainder of the regular season after being diagnosed with a right wrist fracture.
The injury, which will be treated conservatively, was suffered when Coulibaly fell during the game on March 16 at Chicago.
— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) March 18, 2024
The injury was suffered after Coulibaly fell on his right wrist during a game on March 16 at Chicago. Coulibaly missed the team’s next game against the Celtics before the injury was announced.
Washington traded up to the seventh pick to select Coulibaly in last year’s NBA Draft, electing for the player with one of the highest upsides in his draft class. Coulibaly came on strong to begin the year, specifically from three-point range, but hit a rookie wall of sorts toward the ladder part of the season.
Coulibaly’s rookie stats:
- 8.4 PPG
- 4.1 RPG
- 1.7 APG
- 0.9 SPG
- 0.8 BPG
- 43.5% FG / 34.6% 3pt / 70.2% FT
As reported by Josh Robbins of The Athletic, the team originally believed the injury to be a mere wrist contusion before further tests revealed the true extent of the injury. Coulibaly’s right wrist fracture will not require surgery.
The Wizards initially had described Bilal Coulibaly’s wrist injury as a contusion. A team spokesman said testing revealed the fracture this afternoon and that Coulibaly will NOT need surgery. https://t.co/L6aHTMsFnr
— Josh Robbins (@JoshuaBRobbins) March 18, 2024
Wrist fractures can take anywhere from six weeks to a few months to heal, according to multiple sources, varying on the patient as well as the severity of the injury.
For reference, Chicago Bulls guard Alex Caruso fractured his wrist on January 22, 2022 and returned seven weeks later on March 12, 2022.
Based on Coulibaly’s recovery timeline, his Summer League status may be up in the air. He should be fully healed by then, but the Wizards could hold him out due to an abundance of caution.