Credits: Noa Essengue's Official Instagram Account

Noa Essengue Draft Projection – Where Will the French Forward Land in the 2025 NBA Draft?

Credits: Noa Essengue's Official Instagram Account

Noa Essengue who was born in December 18, 2006, in Orleans, France, has swiftly carved a name as one of Europe’s most promising basketball talents, positioning himself as a key prospect for the 2025 NBA Draft. The 18-year-old forward combines elite athleticism of his with versatile skillset, drawing attention from NBA scouts. Essengue’s basketball journey began in his hometown with the youth ranks of Orleans Loiret Basket, where his potential quickly stood out.

He took his first professional steps with Centre Federal de Basket-ball, which is an INSEP-affiliated team in France’s Nationale Masculine 1 (NM1), showcasing his raw talent. In July 2023, Essengue signed with Ratiopharm Ulm of Germany’s Basketball Bundesliga (BBL), spending much of his debut season sharpening his game with OrangeAcademy, Ulm’s developmental squad. His international presence grew with the France U18 team at the 2024 FIBA U18 EuroBasket, and he earned a call-up to the senior national team for France’s Eurobasket 2025 qualifiers against Cyprus.

Essengue’s rapid rise from Orleans to the cusp of NBA stardom underscores his dynamic potential and a great work ethic.

Career-high 22 points and 14 rebounds for Noa Essengue exploded in Game 1 of the German playoff semis. The 18-year-old showcased his skill level, fluidity, defensive versatility, and feel for the game, knocking down a pair of 3s and bringing impressive intensity on both ends. pic.twitter.com/JLMjHZGsF0
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) June 3, 2025

Noa Essengue’s Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths

Gifted with great size and length for can play both as a center or as a power forward
Moves well for his size
Can defend multiple postions, whether it’s forwards or shifty guards
Has Strength to go along with his length
Is a pest on the defensive end
Excels at getting to the rim to finish inside
Has developed a mid-range game in the recent years
Has a high motor to go along with his rebounding ability

Weaknesses

Does not have a consistent three-point shot yet
Thrives on cutting and off-ball-movement, but cannot create his own shots
Needs to work on his playmaking ability as the NBA teams demand some kind of playing making from their front court players
Can get in foul trouble at times and needs to control his aggressiveness on both ends of the court

Noa Essengue’s Stats and Accomplishments

Playing for Ulm last season, Essengue averaged 12.4 points, 1.4 steals, 5.3 rebounds, 1,1 assists, on 56.0 percent shooting from the field, while shooting at 29.4 percent clip from the three-point line in 2024-25 season.

Noa Essengue’s Accomplishments

Bronze medal in 2022 North Macedonia

Just two more Draft Profiles to go before the @trailblazers are on the clock.

Not very often a team has played against a player they could conceivably draft, though that is the case with French forward Noa Essengue out of Ratiopharm Ulm https://t.co/SiMslgXhnI pic.twitter.com/6mqDBlCP98
— Casey Holdahl (@CHold) June 23, 2025

Noa Essengue’s Draft Projection

Noa Essengue could be drafted as the 9th overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft by the Toronto Raptors. While Essengue is far from a finished product, and still a raw talent, if he trains well, he has the potential to be a huge threat starting on the defensive end, disrupting passing lanes, and slowing down opponents.

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Eric Divakaran

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I cover the National Football League and things cannot get better than that. I always dreamed to play football or basketball professionally since I’m built like a Running Back. But now that I can’t, since I’m technically in the “Unc” age, I thought why not pick a career in sports industry? So here I am, doing what I love, and hoping that the Commanders win the Super Bowl. I give love to players when it’s due, but can be critical about their performances at the same time. Enough about me, now let my articles do all the talking.