Noa Essengue

Draft Notes

Essengue is a very intriguing long-term prospect thanks to his fluid mobility at about 6-10 barefoot. He’s oozing with upside and just figuring out how good he can be but also has a long ways to go with his development, especially with adding muscle to his frame and developing his shot.

He’s at his best using his size and speed to get to the rim where he can finish with authority. He’s got long strides and glides up and down the court, moving more like a wing than a big. He’s a very good straight-line athlete but not the most nimble and can get knocked off balance too easily.

He’s a versatile defender and as he adds strength he’ll be able to guard on the wing or in the post. Speaking of weight and strength, this is one of the biggest question marks with Noa. He’s a slender guy who doesn’t have the type of frame that will easily put on weight. He’s got thin hips and an overall thin frame. He last weighted in at 204 but would ideally get up to about 230 to withstand the rigors of the NBA.

Noa has fairly good passing vision and knows how to keep the ball moving. He has impressive ball handling ability for a young 6-10 player and there’s a chance he develops into more of an offensive creator at the prime of his career.

Has potential as an outside shooter but has a lot of work to do. At this point he’s not really a threat from outside but he’ll probably develop this part of his game and maybe get close to league average at some point in his career.

Comparisons

• reminds me a bit of Ed O’Bannon
• with some Al Harrington in his game.

Draft Projection

late lottery to mid first round pick in the 2025 NBA Draft

Latest Big Board

2025 PF Rankings

1. Cooper Flagg – 6-9 – Duke
2. Collin Murray-Boyles – 6-7 – South Carolina
3. Noa Essengue – 6-10 – France
4. Rasheer Fleming – 6-9 – St. Joseph’s
5. Asa Newell – 6-10 – Georgia
6. Noah Penda – 6-8 – France
7. Bogoljub Markovic – 6-10 – Serbia
8. Johni Broome – 6-10 – Auburn
9. Malique Lewis – 6-8 – SE Melbourne, NBL (Trinidad and Tobago)
10. Eric Dixon – 6-8 – Villanova
11. Mohamed Diawara – 6-10 – France
12. Izan Almansa – 6-10 – Perth, NBL (Spain)
13. Igor Milicic Jr. – 6-10 – Tennessee (Croatia)
14. Andrew Carr – 6-11 – Kentucky
15. Grant Nelson – 6-11 – Alabama
16. Coleman Hawkins – 6-10 – Kansas State
17. Norchad Omier – 6-7 – Baylor (Nicaragua)
18. Ian Schieffelin – 6-9 – Clemson
19. K.J. Adams Jr. – 6-7 – Kansas
20. Bryce Hopkins – 6-6 – Providence