NBA Prospect Noa Essengue Is Leaving His German League Team While Up 2-1 In The Bundesliga Finals To Attend The NBA Draft

Basket News – NBA Draft prospect Noa Essengue will miss the remainder of the German league finals to attend the NBA Draft ceremony, per BasketNews sources.

The 18-year-old, 2.05-meter French forward from Ratiopharm Ulm, traveled to New York for the NBA Draft on June 25th, where he is expected to be one of the top selections.

Essengue was invited to the Green Room, reserved for the 19 most highly regarded prospects. In ESPN's latest mock draft by Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo, he is projected to go 9th overall to the Toronto Raptors.

Due to the extended German league season, Essengue was unable to participate in private workouts with NBA teams. However, he remains a projected lottery pick, praised for his length, mobility, and defensive versatility, while also showing offensive efficiency this season.

Ulm currently leads Bayern Munich 2–1 in the best-of-five German league finals, with Game 4 scheduled for June 24th.

Quite the W for America really. Not that there's ever been a human being in the world outside of Noah Lyles who'd argue any league other than the National Basketball Association is the greatest basketball league in the world. Everybody knows the NBA is the end goal for all basketball players. But that's gotta be a harsh reminder for the proud members of Ratiopharm Ulm. That even when leading 2-1 in a 5-game finals series, your teammate would rather go shake the hand of a tall ball man welcoming him to the Washington Wizards (according to at least one mock draft) than experience the thrill of taking down Shabazz Napier and Bayern Munich for the Bundesliga Championship. 

I can't say exactly what I would do if I were in Noa's situation. I would never be in that situation. Even if by the grace of God I were a potential NBA lottery pick, I'd have played college basketball. Especially now that NIL money is a thing, I don't know why anyone would choose to play professional basketball in Germany over having your pick of pretty much D1-college basketball team where you'd probably make even more money. And if Noa Essengue doesn't even care enough about his German League team to play in the most important game of the season, then what the hell was he even doing there in the first place? 

I suppose the answer to that is getting ready for the NBA. Clearly I don't know what's best for him. By all accounts his draft stock rose over the course of this season, so if that's the case you can't really argue with his decision to play in Europe. He is French after all. 

However, now that Ratiopharm Ulm is in the finals, his role on the team has diminished. He's averaging only 3.7 PTS, 1.7 REB, 1.3 AST in their first three games vs Bayern Munich. Despite a promising season, some people believe his overall underwhelming performance so far in the playoffs "now that things are serious" has been a knock against him. 

Especially considering he's being seriously outplayed by fellow 2025 draft prospect teammate Ben Saraf, who's been consistently projected lower than him in all mock drafts.

So if that's the case, I guess you could argue it makes sense for Noa to get the heck out of town before things get worse. But if people are going to look at this move as Noa Essengue quitting on his team when things got tough. That he's jumping shit to the next opportunity before finishing out the commitment he made to his team. All while Ben Saraf, despite being a potential 1st round pick as well, is staying to finish out the finals. Even though that's a pretty unfair comparison, as Ben Saraf is not one of the players invited to the NBA Draft Green room. Still… I feel like that might not the best visual 

Or maybe teams will spin it as Noa Essengue is showing commitment to his future. I'd imagine Noa's decision comes at the advice of his agent. That Noa should want to be there with his new team the very second he is able. No worrying about the past. No distractions. It's all about the Portland Trailblazers from here on out. Or whatever the team who drafts him will tell themselves.

In the end none of this will matter in the slightest. Even in Germany, he's an 18-year old kid playing against grown men. He's nowhere close to a finished product. And NBA teams don't care if you quit your German league team by punching your coach in the face after skating by on some murder charges if you can guard all five positions and develop into a +40% three point shooter. Mock drafts are all over the place, but ESPN has him going as high as #9 overall to the Toronto Raptors. So who cares about Ratiopharm Ulm. They don't appear to need him anyways. Come to America and get that Adam Silver handshake in. There's always a chance draft night is the peak of your NBA career. You'd hate to miss out on that opportunity.