Noa Essengue

Noa Essengue started playing at the pro level in the third-tier of the French Basketball League with Pôle France in the 2021-22 season, but he spent two years with the team before signing with a bigger club, Ratiopharm Ulm, of the Basketball Bundesliga before the start of the 2023-24 season. He spent his first year with the club playing in the 3. Bundesliga for OrangeAcademy, Ratiopharm's developmental team, averaging 18.6 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game across 18 appearances and 28.4 minutes per game. The Frenchman also played three games in the 1. Bundesliga during that season, though he'd only become a regular for Ratiopharm Ulm in 2024-25. During that campaign, the Frenchman has averaged 9.7 points and 4.5 rebounds per game across 30 contests and 22.8 minutes per game. Essengue stands out as soon as he steps on the court and looks like a player who's NBA-ready based on his size and elite athleticism. The Frenchman is a forward with plenty of tools on both ends of the court, and some areas that stand out are his excellent handles, his dynamic finishing package and his outstanding value on the defensive end. One area that still needs some work is his shooting, but Essengue has shown development in that area as well. How well his shooting progresses will ultimately determine the kind of role he might have in his career at the next level, but he has enough tools in other areas to compensate for an eventual lack of shooting. He's a smart player with excellent handles, solid passing and outstanding defensive instincts, although his youth also shows that there are areas of his game in which he needs to keep working on to reach his full potential. It's hard to predict what kind of player Essengue will become in the future, because his upside and true value will end up being tied to whether his jumper ever becomes a reliable weapon or not. He's a player with enough tools to be an asset in the right system and has elite defensive potential, but his shooting could use some work. If his shooting develops as expected, then he could be compared to someone like Nicolas Batum. If it doesn't, however, than a more accurate comparison could be Al-Farouq Aminu.