Basketball: Wembanyama and Coulibaly, the reunion of the two friends for the first time in the NBA

Victor Wembanyama. MAXPPP – ADAM DAVIS

"C'est juste incroyable!" Le sourire de Victor Wembanyama ne quitte plus son visage, le prodige français vient de réaliser "un rêve": affronter son ami d'enfance et ancien coéquipier Bilal Coulibaly lors d'un match de NBA samedi.

On the Washington floor, the two French basketball gems exchange laughs and knowing glances. The victory of the San Antonio Spurs against the Wizards of the capital at the last minute (131-127) will remain anecdotal for the two childhood friends compared to the pleasure of meeting again.

"It'It's truly a moment of pure joy, we were just proud! It was our dream, to find ourselves on the field facing each other", slips Bilal Coulibaly after the meeting.

💙🤍❤️ Victor Wembanyama et Bilal Coulibaly ont échangé leurs maillots après leur premier duel en NBA.

Boulogne-Levallois ➡️ États-Unis. 🥹 pic.twitter.com/dNDTpVE086

— Basket USA 🏀 (@basketusa) January 21, 2024

In a good mood, the two rookies did not hesitate to go to bed: "We had a bit of “trash talk" (teasing, editor's note) before the match, unfortunately he won. It's childish, we're a bit like brothers having fun!", laughs the 19-year-old from Ile-de-France.

Of "brothers" for whom this reunion in the NBA, the most prestigious basketball league in the world, is a dream that goes back years.

Friends since childhood

In a photo from 2017, the two kids pose, with proud chins and blue and yellow jerseys on their backs in the colors of the Hauts-de-Seine players under 13 years old. "Wemby", on the far left, is already a head taller than all his teammates. Bilal, far right, smiles for his first national title.

Bilal Coulibaly in the Metropolitans 92 jersey, before flying to the NBA. MAXPPP – Glenn Gervot

This memory remains engraved in Wembanyama's memory: "With Bilal, we were French champions seven years ago. Seeing people I love make their dreams come true is just magnificent. He's part of it and the worst part is that it's only at the beginning: we can see very clearly that he's the most promising of his team. , blurts out the 2.24m giant who has just celebrated his 20th birthday.

Their size difference — 21 centimeters in favor of the eldest — has not changed, but in another photo, the suits have replaced the two-tone jerseys too wide for their small bodies.

The date: June 2023. A golden summer for French basketball where the NBA red carpet opens to the two friends and teammates who are coming out of a full season with the Mets 92 de Levallois in Betclic Elite, the French championship.

Victor Wembanyama x Bilal Coulibaly. ✊

pic.twitter.com/DJYQXX9MEl

— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) January 21, 2024

Victor Wembanyama becomes the first French player to be drafted number one in history. And Bilal Coulibaly, in the shadow of his "big brother", is chosen in seventh position, which makes him the second highest drafted Frenchman with Killian Hayes (2020).

Countering your "big brother"

L'one is a real comet that never ceases to impress with its agility and its extraordinary physical qualities. An "alien", as American legend LeBron James described it, victim, like basketball enthusiasts, of "Wembamania".

The other, more discreet, takes the opportunity to make his mark in the American capital, garners playing time and strings together good matches, always strong in defense and with impressive athletic potential.

Victor Wembanyama. EPA – ADAM DAVIS

The two French people are swimming in the opposite direction of their team's moribund results, San Antonio in last place in the Western Conference and Washington in penultimate place in the East , but that doesn't stop them from putting on a show.

Wembanyama made the Capital One Arena roar on Saturday with dazzling blocks and a few improbable dunks, and Coulibaly even made a block on his "big brother" !

"I have to see if it's been credited to me", jokes the person concerned after the match.

Also read: VIDEO. "You said it, not me!" : Tony Parker's ball during the NBA match in Paris

If he's already thinking about the Olympic Games this year? "Still, it's going to be in Paris, that's not all the time it's in your country!" But this time, "BC" and "Wemby" will play on the same side.

And Coulibaly makes no mistake, "it's going to be easier this time!"