Who is Noa Essengue? Exploring background, parents, and his unusual journey to NBA after trying judo and tennis
Image credit: Noa Essengue/Instagram
There's a young NBA star in town, and there's a buzz. The Chicago Bulls picked French teenager Noa Essengue in the NBA Draft. Until recently, Essengue was just a regular teenager playing basketball — and that too without any college experience — but he quickly became a trending topic and the talk of the town after being selected in the top 15.
Who is Noa Eseengue?
Born in 2006 in Orleans, Loiret, France, Essengue began his basketball journey through the French youth development system with Orleans Loiret Basket. In 2021, the then 18-year-old signed his first professional contract with Centre Fédéral de Basket-ball.
After spending two years with Centre Fédéral, Essengue moved to the German league and joined Ratiopharm Ulm. He spent one season with Ulm before making a significant leap in his career.
In the 2024–25 season, he joined the top professional tier and never looked back. Essengue averaged 10.7 points and five rebounds for Ulm.
He also represented France at the 2024 FIBA U-18 EuroBasket tournament and later joined the senior team for the EuroBasket qualifiers in 2025.
Who are Noa Essengue's parents?
After being picked by the Chicago Bulls in the NBA Draft, curiosity about Essengue's background — including details about his parents' names, professions, and education — flooded the internet. Social media was abuzz with searches and speculation. So, who are Noa Essengue's parents?
Essengue is the son of former Cameroonian basketball player Gaston Essengue.
Gaston played college basketball for the UNLV Rebels from 2005 to 2007. He averaged 5.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game in 65 appearances.
Though Gaston's name gained attention during the 2007 season, he went undrafted in the 2007 NBA Draft. He went on to play professionally in countries like France and Turkey for over a decade.
Essengue's mother was a math teacher at a school. But it was his older brother Mathis who was for reason behind him opting for basketball.
'I don't really have a sporty family,' Essengue told Olympics.com.
'But I think I have the advantage of having a very close-knit family. When I was little, I didn't live with my dad, but mostly with my older brother Mathis and my mom. I followed my older brother a lot; as soon as he changed sports, I followed him everywhere. He started doing judo, I followed him and did it for five years. After that, he went to tennis, and I went to tennis too. One day he decided to play basketball, and I signed up too.
I started to enjoy it and thought, 'Why not make it my career?' he revealed.'
Also Read:
Noa Essengue eyes 2025 NBA draft in Brooklyn after taking sudden exit from German League
Standing at 6'10', Noa Essengue is a talent to watch out for in the upcoming season.
Game On Season 1 continues with Mirabai Chanu's inspiring story. Watch Episode 2 here.
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