MUNICH (Germany) - As we inch closer to the NBA Draft, mock drafts and big boards show a now-familiar trend: multiple French prospects are once again projected to hear their names called.
This year: Nolan Traore, Joan Beringer, Maxime Raynaud, and Noah Penda could all walk across the stage at Barclays Center on draft night, but the name most scouts expect to be called first from this new wave of French talent is Noa Essengue. Unlike the other prospects we've covered in this series, Essengue doesn't come from a family of former professional athletes, but his family still played a role in his first contact with basketball.
"When I was little, I followed my older brother everywhere. When he started practicing judo, I did the same for five years. He tried tennis after that, so I went to tennis too," Essengue explained in an interview with Florian Bouhier for Olympics.com. "One day, he decided to play basketball, so I signed up too."
Essengue began playing at 12 years old in the youth ranks of his hometown team, Orleans Loiret, and within two years he began attracting the attention of national programs, which led to a move to INSEP - the storied sports academy in Paris that has developed a multitude of standout French players over the years, including Tony Parker, Boris Diaw, and Evan Fournier.
The international spotlight soon followed. In 2022, he earned a call-up to the French U16 national team ahead of that summer's FIBA U16 EuroBasket, where Essengue was one of the key pieces in France's bronze-medal run; averaging 13.0 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.
NBA scouts quickly took notice of his game. "I was intrigued by his combination of agility, versatility, and athleticism," recalls Theo Anastasoudis, basketball scout for Eurohoops. "That, combined with the way he attacked the rim and his glimpses of defensive potential, led me to see him as a raw player with huge upside."
Essengue quickly proved that the hype was real in his first full season with INSEP, playing in the French third division, and followed his successful 2022-23 campaign with another strong performance at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket in 2023 - where he was a key piece in another Semi-Finals run for Les Bleus.
"Essengue was my favorite prospect in the tournament," says Matthias Coso, a French basketball scout who works for Envergure. "I loved his defensive versatility, and he was already productive on the offensive end with his ability to run the floor and his great touch around the basket."
That same summer, Essengue followed in the footsteps of fellow French prospects Killian Hayes and Pacome Dadiet by moving to Germany to join Ratiopharm Ulm. He spent most of his first year with Orange Academy - Ulm's farm team - and he was dominant in Germany's third division: averaging 19.2 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game.
This 'bridge' season was key for Essengue's development, as it allowed him to build day-one translatable skills during practices with the senior team, while also having the freedom to expand his game with the team's academy.
"Guys like Pacome Dadiet, Jeremy Sochan, and Noa Essengue all played in the Orange Academy program in some capacity," explains Jimmy Rhoades, a former Player Development Coach for Ulm who's currently with the Kawasaki Brave Thunders of the Japanese B.League.
"Ultimately these younger prospects spend time playing the role they want to develop towards at the Pro B level, and time playing the role they'll have early in their NBA futures on the BBL team."
The goal of moving to Ulm was clear for Essengue. "In Ulm, the infrastructure is great. Everything is set up so that you just have to focus on basketball. That's what I wanted, because when I left INSEP, my goal was to go to the NBA."
That goal came closer during the 2024-25 season. After another strong showing with the French youth national team at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket, Essengue was promoted to Ulm's senior squad full time, where he was joined by fellow draft prospect Ben Saraf - making Ulm a must-watch team for NBA decision-makers.
The spotlight intensified after an early-season trip to the United States where Ratiopharm faced the Portland Trail Blazers in a pre-season contest where Essengue stood out after putting up 20 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists in the game.
"After the Portland game, people started talking about me a little more," Essengue acknowledges. "It was my first time playing on an NBA court, against an NBA team."
Despite the growing NBA buzz, Ulm head coach Ty Harrelson notes that both Essengue and Saraf have stayed grounded. "I'm really impressed with both of those guys and just how they approach everything," Harrelson told Antonis Stroggylakis in a recent interview with Eurohoops.
"You've got to remember, these guys are NBA talents for the future, but right now they are living away from home. I think it's really impressive how they behave. You really wouldn't know it if you weren't inside our group."
As impressive as his off-the-court demeanor has been, what has scouts raving is Essengue's productivity on the floor. He has made a seamless transition to the highest levels of competition, and this season he has been a key contributor for Ulm; averaging 11.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game.
"His defense is what makes him a special prospect," explains Coso. "At 6'11" he's capable of defending guards, forwards, and the point of attack; His elite mobility for his size allows him to defend every position at Ulm. "
"I think he has a perfect mixture of tools that are starting to come together at the perfect time." - Tyler Rucker, basketball scout for No Ceilings
The defensive versatility is something that Essengue takes pride in. "My biggest asset is that I can defend from 1 through 5," he told Olympics.com. "I would say that I am quite versatile, I can do a little bit of everything on the court."
Offensively, however, he's still developing. While he has been able to put pressure on opposing defenders with his combination of size, speed, and ball-handling ability, there's still room for improvement. "One thing that is really important is his shooting behind the arc," explains Anastasoudis when asked about his areas for development. "This will give him the option to attack better and harder on closeout opportunities."
Scouts also note that despite the aspects that of his game that still need refining, Essengue is still able to consistently make his presence felt on the floor. "Noa finds a way to make an impact on the court on both sides," says Tyler Rucker, founder of No Ceilings, a website that covers the NBA Draft year-round.
"I think he has a perfect mixture of tools that are starting to come together at the perfect time. He checks plenty of boxes that I'm looking for in a player with tremendous upside."
That impact was also recognized by Frederic Fauthoux. The head coach of the French national team gave Essengue his first call up at just 17 years of age, and Essengue saw first minutes with the senior national team during November's window of the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 qualifiers.
"He's been very good since the start of the season," Fauthoux told the French press ahead of November's qualifying window. "He's developing, and this is the ideal window to show what he can do at the international level."
For Essengue it was a dream come true. "Playing with guys I've been watching on TV since I was young, and representing my country, it's just amazing," he told reporters. "It's been my dream since I was a kid. I am happy. I'm looking forward to this moment."
Essengue saw a total of 14 minutes across two games against Cyprus and wasn't especially effective, scoring just two points on 1-of-6 shooting. Still, scouts see a clear path for Essengue to become a key piece of the French national team going forward — even with the wealth of young talent the team already has in the frontcourt.
"Noa has the tools to be a great addition to the national team," explains Rucker, who envisions how Essengue could fit in a frontcourt alongside names like Zaccharie Risacher, Alex Sarr and Victor Wembanyama. "He's a tremendous transition weapon, so having him running out wide alongside the other types of players on that French national team would get any coaching staff excited."
Essengue is likely to follow in the footsteps of the aforementioned players in the upcoming NBA Draft, where he's projected as a first-round pick and viewed by scouts as a high-upside, long-term bet.
"I think I see a lot of Indiana Pacers forward Pascal Siakam in Noa," Rucker adds. "They have the fluidity and athleticism of a wing, but there's a lot of fascinating tools that give them some versatility on the perimeter."
"Going back to the last couple of years, I've seen Essengue take big steps in the right direction when it comes to his development. Each year, I think he continues to see his game blossom into another level," Rucker says before concluding, "With all of those factors, plus the fact that he's still one of the youngest players in this class, he's a player I'd want to make an early and long-term investment on."
On the brink of what could be another historic Draft night for French basketball, as the country has had nine different prospects drafted over the past two years, Essengue recognizes that this is a special moment not just for him, but for the entire 2006 generation of French players.
"We talk about it very often with Nolan Traore and Mohamed Diawara. I think we're all a bit competitive, but it's a healthy competition. We're always going to be there supporting each other," Essengue explained to Olympics.com. "No matter what order we're in, we're all going to be happy for whoever gets drafted."
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