Ranking 7 first-round prospects Spurs are rumored to be coveting

3. Bilal Coulibaly

Victor Wembanyama's Metropolitans 92 teammate Bilal Coulibaly has been trending upward in draft conversations over the past several weeks, and after diving into more film, it's easy to see why. I've already put together an in-depth scouting report on Coulibaly and detailed why the Spurs will likely be interested in him come draft night, but for those pressed on time, I'll lay out a brief summary of those thoughts here.

Coulibaly is likely the best athlete to be featured on this list, as he has the functional strength, lateral quickness, and length to defend multiple positions on the perimeter. But he also uses that athleticism to finish lobs and put-back dunks on offense. Furthermore, he's an intelligent cutter without the ball, can attack some closeouts with the ball, and has dramatically improved as a shooter over the last couple of seasons.

Coulibaly may not be a guard, but depth at the small forward position is sneakily another need for the Spurs, and outside of some of the draft's most hyped names that are slated to be top-10 picks (i.e., the Thompson twins and Cam Whitmore), you won't find many wing players with higher upside than Couliably. The Spurs can likely afford to take one or two more big "swings" before honing in on finding game-ready role players, and Couliably strikes me as an intelligent swing to make. He'll have to continue improving as a shooter and ball-handler, but if he puts all of his tools together, he could end up being a massive steal.