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Time of India
15 hours ago
- Sport
- Time of India
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 '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.
Chicago Tribune
2 days ago
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Who is Noa Essengue? 6 things to know about the Chicago Bulls' No. 12 pick in the 2025 NBA draft.
The Chicago Bulls added another lengthy wing to their arsenal by selecting French teenager Noa Essengue with the No. 12 pick in the first round of Wednesday's NBA draft. Without any NCAA playing experience, Essengue is one of the lesser-known names to be selected with a top 15 pick. So why did the Bulls take a swing on him? And what does his future look like in Chicago? Here's what to know about the newest Bull. A native of Orléans, France, Essengue came up through the French youth development system with Orléans Loiret Basket before signing his first professional contract in 2021 with Centre Fédéral de Basket-ball. Essengue left for the German league to join Ratiopharm Ulm in 2023, where he played one season in the youth development league before moving up to the top professional tier for the 2024-25 season. He averaged 10.7 points and 5 rebounds per game for Ulm this season. Essengue is also a future prospect for the French national team. He competed for the U-18 team at the 2024 FIBA U-18 EuroBasket tournament, then moved up to the senior team for EuroBasket qualifiers in 2025. Essengue caused a bit of a stir leading up to the NBA draft when he chose to leave Germany while his team, Ulm, was still competing in the finals of the Basketball Bundesliga championship. Ulm faced Bayern Munich in the fourth game of a five-game series Tuesday, only hours before the draft took place in New York City. Although Essengue missed a must-win game — a 67-53 home loss which pushed the series to a final game Thursday — the rookie said this was always the agreed-upon plan with the coaching staff. (The 18-year-old was averaging only 3.7 points in fewer than 14 minutes per game in the finals series before he left.) 'We talked a lot with my coaching staff, all the staff from Ulm,' Essengue said. 'It was like, 'If I get in the green room, I'm leaving.' And the coach said yes. So on the day I learned I'm in the green room, the coach said, 'Just go there, live your dream and we'll finish the job.'' Essengue's teammate Ben Saraf also left after he was invited for draft night festivities. Saraf was selected No. 26 by the Brooklyn Nets. General manager Marc Eversley said the front office first watched Essengue last September when Ulm played a preseason friendly against the Portland Trail Blazers. At the time, Essengue was a raw 17-year-old still finding his footing at the top level of German professional basketball. He hit a trio of 3-pointers while logging 20 points and eight rebounds, making a strong impression on Eversley and other NBA executives. Although Essengue is versatile enough to play anywhere between the three and the five, Eversley said the Bulls ideally see him as a wing who can match up against a wide range of frontcourt and backcourt opponents. Eversley drew his own comparisons between Essengue and 2024 draft pick Matas Buzelis, who excelled in his rookie season as an oversized wing who could pick up a wide variety of assignments on defense. It might seem counterproductive to draft two players with similar skillsets in back-to-back drafts, but Eversley cited this as a strength — rather than a weakness — in the team's draft strategy. 'I like the length, the versatility, the ability to be switchable on defense,' Eversley said. 'Those are all intriguing qualities.' Eversley said the Bulls kept in touch with three or four other teams to negotiate the potential of trading up for a higher pick. Such a trade could have allowed the Bulls to take a swing on a true center like Khaman Maluach (No. 10, Phoenix Suns) or a more developed forward like Collin Murray-Boyles (No. 9, Toronto Raptors). Ultimately, the Bulls front office didn't feel it was worthwhile to move up in the draft order. 'We felt comfortable that the player we wanted was going to be there for us,' Eversley said. 4 players with Illinois ties were picked in 1st round of NBA draft. Here's what to know about should come as no surprise, but an untested rookie who won't turn 19 until late December is going to have more weaknesses than strengths in his debut season. So yes, Essengue will come to the Bulls with a long to-do list to build out his game to an NBA level. Although he's lengthy with large hands and a sprawling reach, the forward needs to get stronger to begin finishing through contact and providing a physical challenge to opposing bigs. Essengue is excellent at getting to the free-throw line in Germany, but it's unclear if that talent will translate to the NBA. The rookie's shooting will be a major focus. And both his ball-handling and playmaking will need extensive development — not just this year, but in the long term — to give Essengue the independence to actually create proactively. It's too early to say. Essengue will be in Chicago this weekend to begin his onboarding process. He is also expected to participate in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, where he will get his first minutes playing alongside Buzelis. But beyond this summer, the Bulls are still determining the appropriate timeline for the teenager. Eversley made it clear that the front office understands the patience necessary to establish a strong foundation with a selection this young. And that means the Bulls still haven't ruled out stashing Essengue for a year as they wait to clear out contracts for the 2026-27 season. Ultimately, the rookie's debut could be contingent on the front office's ability to execute a collection of crucial transactions to move players like Nikola Vučević.
Reuters
17-06-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Thirteen more players withdraw from NBA draft pool
June 17 - Thirteen additional early entry candidates have withdrawn their names from consideration in the upcoming 2025 NBA Draft, the league announced Tuesday. The draft is scheduled for June 25-26 in Brooklyn, N.Y. The Dallas Mavericks have the No. 1 overall pick and are widely projected to choose Duke forward Cooper Flagg. The 13 players, along with their current team (country of team) and height: Mohammad Amini, Nancy (France), 6-7 Alec Anigbata, Ulm (Germany), 6-9 Neoklis Avdalas, Peristeri (Greece), 6-7 Bassala Bagayoko, Bilbao (Spain), 6-10 Asim Djulovic, OKK Beograd (Serbia), 6-9 Mouhamed Faye, Reggio Emilia (Italy), 6-9 Lazar Gacic, OKK Beograd (Serbia), 6-11 Ben Henshall, Perth (Australia), 6-5 Malique Lewis, SE Melbourne (Australia), 6-8 Mathias M'Madi, Moron (Spain), 6-5 Zaion Nebot, Le Havre (France), 6-2 Michael Ruzic, Joventut (Spain), 6-9 David Torresani, Treviso (Italy), 6-1 --Field Level Media
USA Today
13-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Ben Saraf: Official draft combine measurements revealed for Israeli guard
Ben Saraf: Official draft combine measurements revealed for Israeli guard Potential first-round pick Ben Saraf reportedly completed his anthropometric measurement testing ahead of the 2025 NBA draft, according to Jon Chepkevich of DraftExpress. Saraf is averaging 12.4 points, 4.3 assists, 2.8 rebounds and 1.1 steals on 45.2% shooting from the field in 55 games this season with ratiopharm Ulm in the German League. He has registered five 20-point games, including a 20-point, seven-assist performance on May 24. The 6-foot-7 Israeli guard is still competing in the playoffs with ratiopharm Ulm, who face Bayern Munich in the finals. He had a break in action, allowing him to complete his required predraft testing before beginning the series on Sunday in Ulm. Saraf was the 2024 Israeli League Premier Rising Star after emerging as the best young player with his team, Elitzur Kiryat Ata. He was also the Israeli National League Rising Star and Sixth Man of the Year with Elitzur Netanya in 2023. The 19-year-old is highly touted as a prospect because of his scoring ability, playmaking and court vision. He dazzles with his passing and innate ability to make pinpoint, cross-court passes off drives and in pick-and-roll situations. Saraf is among several international prospects in the draft. He will arrive late in the United States and could even miss the draft on June 25-26 as he competes for a championship in Germany.
USA Today
13-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Potential lottery pick Noa Essengue completes combine testing ahead of 2025 NBA draft
Potential lottery pick Noa Essengue completes combine testing ahead of 2025 NBA draft Projected lottery pick Noa Essengue completed his anthropometric measurement testing ahead of the 2025 NBA draft, according to Jon Chepkevich of DraftExpress. Essengue is averaging 11.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists on 52.4% shooting from the field in 57 games with ratiopharm Ulm in the German League. He has registered seven 20-point games, including a 22-point, 14-rebound performance on June 1. The 6-foot-11 Frenchman is still competing in the playoffs with ratiopharm Ulm, who face Bayern Munich in the finals. He had a break in action, allowing him to complete his required predraft testing before beginning the series on Sunday in Ulm. Essengue is highly touted as a prospect this year, because of his size, rebounding and defensive versatility. He has looked increasingly comfortable on offense and has turned in several noteworthy performances in his team's recent playoff run. The 18-year-old also boasts a strong interior game and dazzled in the open court in fastbreak situations after creating turnovers with his length and instincts on defense. He brings versatility and high-level experience with him to the NBA. Essengue is among several international prospects in the draft. He will arrive late in the United States and could even miss the draft on June 25-26 as he competes for a championship in Germany.
