Noa Essengue - NBA Mock Draft Roundup 1.0
Leading up to the 2025 NBA Draft, we will track where Ratiopharm Ulm (Germany) forward Noa Essengue appears in the latest NBA mock drafts.
Noa Essengue NBA Mock Drafts
Here are some of the latest mock drafts in which Noa Essengue has appeared:
Round 1, Pick 10 — San Antonio Spurs (via ATL)
France's Noa Essengue ranks fourth-best among all players in Defensive Statistical Impact (DSI) among those with at least five games played in the Eurocup, per Cerebro Sports. He ranks ninth-best in Player Efficiency Rating (23.1) among all qualified players in the Eurocup, via RealGM. He is also the second-youngest player in the draft.
Round 1, Pick 15 — Minnesota Timberwolves (via DET)
Essengue is one of the youngest players in the draft. He's viewed as a highly versatile defender who needs to define his translatable offense, but still has a way of impacting the game without needing significant offensive volume. If Julius Randle isn't in Minnesota past this year, the Wolves could use another frontcourt piece.
Bleacher Report — Jonathan Wasserman
Round 1, Pick 15 — Minnesota Timberwolves (via DET)
Noa Essengue continues to show up in the scoring column for Ulm, mostly by tapping into physical tools, motor and timing for picking up easy baskets at the rim.
Every so often, though, he'll hit a spot-up three or show off enough ball-handling and body control to attack a closeout and slice to the hoop.
Scouts are still going to be thinking long-term with Essengue, a limited creator and shooter with a thin frame. But even at baseline and just 17 years old, he's still managed to be a 10.0-point-per-game scorer in Germany's top league.
Every so often, though, he'll hit a spot-up three or show off enough ball-handling and body control to attack a closeout and slice to the hoop.
Scouts are still going to be thinking long-term with Essengue, a limited creator and shooter with a thin frame. But even at baseline and just 17 years old, he's still managed to be a 10.0-point-per-game scorer in Germany's top league.
Round 1, Pick 14 — San Antonio Spurs
Scouts remain impressed by Essengue, a forward from France playing with Saraf in Germany. Scouts got to see these two up close when Ulm traveled to Portland to play the Trail Blazers this year, with Essengue scoring 20 points and grabbing eight rebounds with a strong second half. The idea here is a big, versatile wing who is younger than anyone in the draft class other than Flagg who has already been productive playing at 17 in a solid professional league. He's active and switchable on defense, with serious coordination and mobility for his size. Offensively, scouts wonder exactly what the best position for him is. Because he struggles to shoot it, Essengue often looks more like a center right now as opposed to an NBA wing. He's at his best playing with a motor and aggressiveness on the glass, which he consistently does. However, he would also be quite undersized for the center position. He's so young that it is tough to tell exactly where he's going to settle in. However, there's clearly upside athletically at this size. Essengue's range is a bit wide when you talk to scouts, but the ones who like him tend to really like him.
Round 1, Pick 18 — Utah Jazz (via MIN)
This is the second of Utah's three first-round picks, this one coming from Minnesota in the Rudy Gobert trade. A developmental player such as Essengue, who turned 18 last month and has held his own this season in Germany, would land in a beneficial long-term situation should he go to Utah.
Essengue has a terrific frame and offers two-way versatility at power forward. The long-term questions center on his perimeter shooting (19% from 3) and he struggles with physicality. It's going to take him time to add strength and develop his offense, but Essengue's youth and the fact he's adding value to a winning team at Ulm bolster his first-round case. -- Woo
Essengue has a terrific frame and offers two-way versatility at power forward. The long-term questions center on his perimeter shooting (19% from 3) and he struggles with physicality. It's going to take him time to add strength and develop his offense, but Essengue's youth and the fact he's adding value to a winning team at Ulm bolster his first-round case. -- Woo