Noa Essengue

Noa Essengue To Declare For NBA Draft

French star Noa Essengue will enter the NBA draft, he tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN. The 18-year-old power forward is a potential lottery pick, coming in 17th in ESPN’s latest draft rankings.

“Since I was a kid, it’s been my dream to get drafted by an NBA team,” Essengue said. “My goal now is to be a top-10 pick. I’m focused on the end of my season, hoping to win a championship, but after the playoffs, I will need to get myself ready, because there’s a big gap between Europe and the NBA.”

Givony notes that Essengue is 6’10”, but he’s often assigned to defend point guards because of his quick feet and long arms. He’s a fast jumper who draws fouls frequently and has proven to be an efficient finisher at the rim despite his thin build. Givony also cites Essengue’s basketball IQ, which includes “a good feel for cutting, leaking out in transition and finding teammates with intelligent passes.”

“My biggest strength is my defense,” Essengue said. “I have the versatility to guard one to five. If an NBA coach wanted to put me on the court right now, it would be because I can stay in front of point guards and also put a body on centers. I need to keep improving every aspect of my game, though. I’m playing tougher every game, trying to match the intensity and physicality of my opponents.”

Essengue is currently playing for Germany’s Ratiopharm Ulm in the BBL League as well as EuroCup competition. Through 43 games, he’s averaging 10.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.0 steals in 24 minutes per night.

Givony notes that Essengue will be the second-youngest player in this year’s draft, only three days older than projected No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg. Givony adds that if Essengue had been born two weeks later, he would have been required to wait for the 2026 draft.

“I want to be a guy who can do everything on the court,” Essengue said. “I watch a lot of Kevin DurantBrandon Ingram, and Kawhi Leonard, players that can dribble, pass, shoot and defend.”

And-Ones: D-Lo, Lithuania, 2025 Draft, Awards, Fall

Lakers point guard D’Angelo Russell recently confirmed rumors that he’d have interest in playing for the Lithuanian national team. Addressing those reports on Tuesday, however, the Lithuanian Basketball Federation announced that it doesn’t intend to initiate the naturalization process for Russell, citing both legal and basketball reasons.

Russell’s wife is of Lithuanian descent, but today’s statement from the Lithuanian Basketball Federation indicated that there are no grounds for Russell himself, as a foreigner, to be granted citizenship by exception, which can only be approved by the President of Lithuania.

As BasketNews.com notes, Lithuanian Basketball Federation president Mindaugas Balciunas added that national team head coach Rimas Kurtinaitis and general manager Linas Kleiza, “aim to achieve success using our own talent pool.” The naturalized slot on the club’s roster is currently held by Ignas Brazdeikis, who was born in Lithuania but moved to North America as a child, represented Canada in youth international competitions, and had his Lithuanian citizenship restored in 2021.

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