The Utah Jazz and two other teams are reportedly seriously considering using their top pick in the 2023 NBA Draft on the teenage teammate of French phenom Victor Wembanyama.
Heading into June’s NBA Draft there is one undisputed fact. And that is Victor Wembanyama will be the first player selected during the annual event. He is the most hyped basketball prospect since Lebron James and is viewed as a no-doubt future NBA star.
Also Read: NBA Draft rumors – Latest information leading up to the 2023 event
However, after Wembanyama things are a bit less unclear. To many NBA Draft observers, Alabama swingman Brandon Miller and G-League star Scoot Henderson are the next-best players in the 2023 class. But it is far from guaranteed they will be the next players selected after the San Antonio Spurs draft Wembanyama. It gets even more cloudy the further you go down in the top-15.
That is why this year’s event is wide open for surprise prospects that could rise from obscurity to be selected with a high-value pick. One of those players is French talent Bilal Coulibaly. The 18-year-old is teammates with Victor Wembanyama on the Metropolitans 92, and he has stolen some attention away from the star prospect as they have both played a key role in their team’s run to the finals of the LNB Pro A league in France.
Utah Jazz considering taking Bilal Coulibaly with first pick in 2023 NBA Draft
After starting the season on the team’s under-21 team, he earned his way onto the professional roster and has starred in their postseason run. That success has now put him on the radar of a few teams in the top 15, as NBA draft analyst Rafael Barlowe explained in a Thursday posting to his Substack page.
“While it’s assumed the Utah Jazz will address their need for a point guard with their first of three picks in the 2023 NBA draft, there are rumblings the Jazz may target France’s Bilal Coulibaly at No. 9 and select a point guard with the 16th pick they acquired from Minnesota in the Rudy Gobert blockbuster trade last summer. … The Oklahoma City Thunder and Toronto Raptors are also reportedly high on the 18-year-old wing, who was relatively unknown at this time last year.”
– Rafael Barlowe
As Barlowe mentioned, the Utah Jazz are first on the clock at nine. The Oklahoma City Thunder make their first selection at 12, followed by the Toronto Raptors at 13.