The Chicago Bulls selected 18-year-old Noa Essengue with the 12th overall selection. The French forward is one of the intriguing prospects in the 2025 NBA Draft class. Yet, it's fair to throw caution to the wind with this selection. Instead of adding a win-now talent, like Derik Queen, the Bulls prioritized a long-term fit, thus sparking the belief that a rebuild is officially underway.
Essengue's physical profile is exceptional. He's 6-foot-10 and boasts a 7-foot-1 wingspan. However, he's rail-thin, at 204 pounds. Like the Bulls' 11th-overall selection a season ago, Matas Buzelis, who weighed 197 pounds at the NBA Draft Combine, Essengue must add strength to reach his potential.
Unlike Buzelis in the G-League, Essengue didn't compete against NBA-caliber talent in Germany's Basketball Bundesliga. While it's a well-respected league, Essengue wasn't even a full-time starter for Ratiopharm Ulm. He started in only 11 of 41 contests between league play, the Eurocup, and the German Cup.
The Frenchman averaged 10.0 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game for his German squad. Essengue converted 49.6 percent of his field goals, 26.1 percent of his three-pointers, and 69.5 percent of his free throws.
Noa Essengue is more of a long-term play than anything else
While shooting nearly 50 percent from the floor as an 18-year-old wing is ideal, Essengue's subpar three-point percentage left much to be desired. It's not as if he didn't shoot many threes either, Essengue hoisted 2.1 triples per contest—about a third of his field goals. Aside from getting stronger, becoming a reliable shooter will be a point of emphasis for Essengue's development.
On a positive note, without a reliable jumper, Essengue managed to get to the free-throw line at an obscene rate. The French wing averaged 4.8 free throws per game, with a free-throw rate north of 70 percent—an unfathomable percentage for a player barely clearing 200 pounds.
Essengue's sky-high free-throw rate is more of an indication of his transition proficiency rather than his on-ball creation. He's limited in a half-court setting, lacking a nifty handle and consistent jumper. Therefore, his place in Chicago's lineup is anything but solidified.
From the get-go, Essengue will flash in transition and excel in chaos. Nonetheless, it's difficult to pinpoint where the 6-foot-10 forward will fit in Chicago's offense when the game slows down. Does he moonlight in the dunker spot, with Nikola Vucevic manning the high-post? Or is he cast off to the corner where he'll see plenty of regrettably open triples? Neither outcome seems best for a 12th-overall pick.
The hope is certainly that Essengue develops into a high-caliber player, which is guaranteed to take time. He has several standout strengths, including an uber-desirable physical profile. Still, his weaknesses are too glaring to ignore, namely, his lack of offensive creativity and unreliable jumper. Fortunately, the Bulls played at the second-fastest pace in the NBA, and at 18 years and seven months, there's plenty of time for Essengue to develop into a star.