Is it even possible for an NBA player to improve so much in just a few months that they’re almost unrecognizable? The short answer: yes. 18-year-old rookie Noa Essengue’s preseason debut looked like night and day compared to his summer league showing.
Essengue didn’t exactly light up the box score, scoring eight points on 2-of-4 shooting with five rebounds, but his decisiveness and confidence stood out, a stark contrast to his summer league outings.
Noa Essengue looked like a much different player from summer league
Despite not checking in until the 1:30 mark of the third quarter, Essengue came out ready. Merely 10 seconds after stepping onto the floor, he scored his first NBA preseason points. The 6-foot-10 forward curled off a Zach Collins screen, reading the defense perfectly, and driving to the rim with his defender on his hip. He took a feed from Patrick Williams, two strong dribbles, and finished through Larry Nance Jr.’s contest.
Noa Essengue's first NBA preseason points 👏@NoaEssengue | @CHSN__ pic.twitter.com/Zr3sIsNAg9
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) October 8, 2025
Essengue’s ability to find his niche in the halfcourt will be crucial to his development, and that quick basket off a cut offered a glimpse of what he can bring.
Early in the fourth, Essengue’s knack for drawing contact was on full display. With eight minutes left, he earned his first trip to the free-throw line after driving hard to the rim and initiating contact. The sequence was a bit choppy, but his willingness to attack should translate to more free throws at the NBA level—a clear difference from his time in the less-organized summer league.
With just under six minutes left, Essengue attacked a hard closeout, using his long strides to reach the rim in two dribbles. Before going up, he wrapped a pass around the help defender to find Jalen Smith for an easy look. Smith drew the foul and sank both free throws, trimming Chicago’s deficit to six.
Two minutes later, Essengue drilled a spot-up three from the right corner off a Dalen Terry assist, cutting the Cavaliers’ lead to five. His next impact play came with a minute remaining. After missing a catch-and-shoot three, Essengue stayed active—cutting to the rim as Chicago secured an offensive rebound and his defender turned away. Terry found him again, and the 18-year-old forward gathered, went up off two feet, and used his length to get a shot off over the 6-foot-10, 250-pound Thomas Bryant. Essengue drew the foul and sank both free throws, tying the game at 116.
Essengue's development is already noticeable
In just 14 minutes, Essengue scored eight points and finished a plus-12—the second-best mark on the team. His calm demeanor rarely betrays emotion, yet the noticeable increase in assertiveness and awareness from July to now is evident.
Chicago took a chance when it selected Essengue—the second-youngest player in the draft—with the 12th overall pick in June. The move wasn’t exactly lauded, but it wasn’t criticized either. Most outlets described the Bulls’ choice with three words: upside, intrigue, and long-term.
The Bulls, and much of the NBA media, knew Essengue wasn’t a plug-and-play prospect. That’s okay. He’s just 18 and won’t turn 19 until a third of the season has passed. Yet in just 14 minutes of an otherwise meaningless preseason game, Essengue’s development was on full display. The nuance he’s added since July is already apparent, showing why the Bulls were willing to take a chance on such a raw talent.