With Uncertainty After the Top Two Picks, Noa Essengue Is Rising Appropriately

If you're not the Dallas Mavericks or San Antonio Spurs, there's probably a healthy amount of debate amongst fans and the members of the media who cover your team about who they should take with their draft pick. Ace Bailey, Tre Johnson, VJ Edgecombe, and Derik Queen have all been floated as possibilities after Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper are likely off the board. With growing uncertainty surrounding picks three and later in this draft, there's plenty of space for prospects to climb up boards, and one player who appears to be doing so is French Forward Noa Essengue.

Essengue is arguably the most intriguing prospect in this draft class. He's the second-youngest player, only three days older than Flagg, and is already having a highly productive professional season with German club Ratiopharm Ulm, where he's averaging 10.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 1.4 steals per game on 48/24/71 shooting splits. He's a jack-of-all-trades archetype on both ends of the floor.

He pops the most on defense. Standing at 6-foot-10 with a 6-foot-11 wingspan and 9-foot-3 standing reach, Essengue often looks like he can guard the entire court on his own. He's got deceptive strength for his wiry frame, and absurd anticipation skills that allow him to wreak havoc like few others do overseas on the defensive end. He's comfortable guarding any position or taking on any assignment.

Essengue has blossomed offensively this season. In limited run at the senior level with Ulm last season, he primarily converted easy finishes off cuts and took the occasional catch and shoot spot up three. This season, he's been used as a screener more and come off more screens, thriving at the latter and in the 92nd percentile for efficiency per Synergy Sports. He's also in the 93rd percentile in transition, and the majority of his attempts have still come from spot-ups.

Where he has seen the most growth is movement scoring - off screens and relocating for open shots - as well as putting the ball on the floor. His growth attacking closeouts and creating offensive advantages with only a couple of dribbles has been exponential this season. The three point accuracy is below where you would want it to be, but the form looks good and his free throw shooting gives reason to believe this will improve in time.