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Par Pierre-Andréa Fraile | Journaliste sportif
Long in the shadow of his young compatriot Nolan Traoré, Noa Essengue could end up being the first French player selected in the upcoming NBA Draft. His name is the talk of the town in the USA as the big night approaches.
As has been the tradition for a number of years now, French prospects are once again expected to be popular at the NBA Draft. After Zaccharie Risacher, Alex Sarr, Tidjane Salaün and Pacôme Dadiet in 2024, several of them also seem destined to be chosen in the first round of the ceremony. And why not… by the Nets, as Erik Slater of ClutchPoints recently suggested:
Erik Slater: The Brooklyn Nets will get a look this Wednesday at top international draft prospects. The NBA is organizing pre-draft workouts in Treviso, Italy, for players who were invited to the Draft Combine in Chicago, but were excused because they were still playing with their teams abroad. Noa Essengue, Joan Beringer, Nolan Traoré and Noah Penda will be taking part.
Noa Essengue impresses the Americans before the Draft
Having failed to make it to Chicago a few days ago to show themselves to NBA scouts, the Frenchies of the Draft 2025 crop will have the opportunity to do so this Wednesday. So far, all of them have shown intriguing potential, which could lead to an early selection in the draft. Essengue, in particular, has been on fire in recent days with his club Ratiopharm Ulm. Slater continues:
Erik Slater: Noa Essengue appears to be the most notable player in this group. (…) On Sunday, he put in the best performance of his career in Game 1 of the playoff semi-finals in Germany, with 22 points and 14 rebounds, on 8/16 shooting, 2/5 3-pointers and 4/4 free throws.
Even more than his recent fine performances, the 18-year-old French winger stands out thanks to his astonishing measurements:
Erik Slater: Essengue was measured at 2m06 and weighed in at 90kg, and boasted a wingspan of 2m11 at last year’s Basketball Without Borders. He also boasted an incredible vertical reach of 2m82, just short of Victor Wembanyama’s 2m92. His physical, athletic and shooting data will be on watch this Wednesday.
As a reminder, the Nets have the 8th pick in the draft and could therefore take the gamble of using it to select the French international. In fact, this hypothesis doesn’t seem so crazy, since ESPN expert Jonathan Givony placed him 9th in his latest projections. It’s up to him to justify this enthusiasm with some big performances in the coming hours.
