Coulibaly's Extension Puzzle Is the Wizards' Real Fantasy Wildcard
Washington faces an Oct. 31 deadline on Bilal Coulibaly, whose 26.3 FPTS/G last season leaves him a low-end streamer with real upside.
22-year-old wing with upside, but the shooting and role need to prove real.
- Coulibaly extension deadline: Oct. 31
- 26.3 FPTS/G last season (2025-26), rank #129
- 36.7% on final 109 threes of 2025-26
- Davis eligible for 4yr/$275M starting Aug. 6
- Whitmore ranks #279, likely no extension offer
Everyone wants to talk about Anthony Davis and his looming payday, but the trickier call in Washington is a 22-year-old wing named Bilal Coulibaly. The Wizards have until Oct. 31 to decide whether to hand him a rookie-scale extension, and there's no clean answer. Coulibaly averaged 11.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists across 56 games last season (2025-26), good for 26.3 fantasy points per game and a modest #129 overall rank in our model.
Davis is the flashier headline. Beginning Aug. 6 he can sign a four-year deal worth $275 million, one that would pay him $76 million at age 37. He can also punt, decline his 2027-28 player option, and hit free agency next summer when several teams are projected to have real cap space. Media reports say Davis and the Wizards will open talks soon, but the smart money says he waits.
Why Coulibaly Is the Harder Call
The math on Coulibaly is genuinely interesting. One valuation formula pegs his 2025-26 worth around the mid-level exception, roughly $15 million, which frames an extension somewhere near two years and $31.2 million or a three-year deal in the $48.6 million range. The problem is the 'is it real' question hanging over everything. His usage spiked late last season, but that coincided with injured teammates and a team openly tanking. His three-point shooting improved to 36.7% on his final 109 attempts, but that's a small sample against defenses that weren't taking Washington seriously.
The concerns are real: passivity on offense, a shot defenses can still sag off, and finishing at the rim that remains an adventure. The upside is real too. His length and burst got him into the paint almost at will down the stretch, and at just 22 he has runway most players his age don't. Both sides might be smartest waiting until 2027, when a competitive season gives everyone actual data to price him.
The Fantasy Takeaway
For fantasy managers, none of the contract noise changes Coulibaly's immediate value much — he's a deep-league flier, not a core piece, coming off 26.3 FPTS/G last season (2025-26). What matters is whether the late-season aggression and shooting carry into a more competitive 2026-27 roster. If they do, that #129 rank is a floor, not a ceiling. Keep him on your watch list in 12-team formats and grab him early in deeper leagues if the usage sticks. Davis, meanwhile, remains a strong but fragile hold — #13 overall and a top-five fantasy forward when healthy, but 20 games played last season tells you why you don't build around him.
