Noa Essengue

18-Year-Old ForwardF
Chicago Bulls  NBA  
OFS
Injury Shoulder
Est. Return 10/1/2026
2024 Fantasy Outlook
Essengue played for Ratiopharm Ulm last season, appearing in 60 games and averaging 10.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.5 blocks in 22.8 minutes. He looks like a player who's NBA-ready based on his size and elite athleticism. The Frenchman is a forward with a range of skills on both ends of the court, and some areas that stand out are his excellent handles, his dynamic finishing package and his outstanding defensive value. One area that still needs improvement is his shooting, but Essengue has also shown development in that area. How well his shooting progresses will ultimately determine the kind of role he might have in his career at the next level, but he has enough tools in other areas to compensate for an eventual lack of shooting. It's hard to predict what kind of player Essengue will become in the future, because his upside and true value will ultimately be tied to whether his jumper ever becomes a reliable weapon or not. The Bulls were interested in his upside and selected him with the No. 12 pick in 2025. He has some immediate competition for minutes with Matas Buzelis and Patrick Williams, but Essengue should be able to simply take minutes from Julian Phillips and Dalen Terry. If he bumps those two out of the rotation entirely, he could see around 20 minutes per game by default. That said, he doesn't project as an impactful player in fantasy out of the gate, given that he probably won't be handling the ball much and is still developing a jumper. Though, he does fit with Chicago's run-and-gun style, and he should be able to function alongside floor-spacing centers Nikola Vucevic, Zach Collins and Jalen Smith. It seems likely Essengue will have his flashes, but that may be all as a rookie. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
Current Season
From Preseason
#1
ADP
$Signed a two-year, $11.13 million contract with the Bulls in July of 2025. Contract includes $5.97 million team option for 2027-28.
Personal Bio/PreCareer Summary

Noa Essengue started playing at the pro level in the third-tier of the French Basketball League with Pôle France in the 2021-22 season, but he spent two years with the team before signing with a bigger club, Ratiopharm Ulm, of the Basketball Bundesliga before the start of the 2023-24 season. He spent his first year with the club playing in the 3. Bundesliga for OrangeAcademy, Ratiopharm's developmental team, averaging 18.6 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game across 18 appearances and 28.4 minutes per game. The Frenchman also played three games in the 1. Bundesliga during that season, though he'd only become a regular for Ratiopharm Ulm in 2024-25. During that campaign, the Frenchman has averaged 9.7 points and 4.5 rebounds per game across 30 contests and 22.8 minutes per game. Essengue stands out as soon as he steps on the court and looks like a player who's NBA-ready based on his size and elite athleticism. The Frenchman is a forward with plenty of tools on both ends of the court, and some areas that stand out are his excellent handles, his dynamic finishing package and his outstanding value on the defensive end. One area that still needs some work is his shooting, but Essengue has shown development in that area as well. How well his shooting progresses will ultimately determine the kind of role he might have in his career at the next level, but he has enough tools in other areas to compensate for an eventual lack of shooting. He's a smart player with excellent handles, solid passing and outstanding defensive instincts, although his youth also shows that there are areas of his game in which he needs to keep working on to reach his full potential. It's hard to predict what kind of player Essengue will become in the future, because his upside and true value will end up being tied to whether his jumper ever becomes a reliable weapon or not. He's a player with enough tools to be an asset in the right system and has elite defensive potential, but his shooting could use some work. If his shooting develops as expected, then he could be compared to someone like Nicolas Batum. If it doesn't, however, than a more accurate comparison could be Al-Farouq Aminu.

Out for season
FChicago Bulls
Out For Season
December 3, 2025
Essengue will undergo left shoulder surgery and will miss the remainder of the 2025-26 season, K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network reports.
ANALYSIS
The No. 12 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, Essengue's rookie season comes to an end with just two brief appearances to his name. The Bulls had a plan to bring him along slowly, to be clear, and he showed a lot of promise in four G League appearances with averages of 23.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.3 three-pointers.
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2025
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2025
Stat Review
How does Noa Essengue compare to other players?
This section compares his stats with all players from the previous three seasons (minimum 200 minutes played)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.
  • True Shooting %
    An advanced statistic that measures a player's efficiency at shooting the ball that takes field goal percentage, free throw percentage, and three point percentage into account.
  • Effective Field Goal %
    A statistic that adjusts field goal percentage to account for the fact that three-point field goals count for three points while field goals only count for two points.
  • 3-Point Attempt Rate
    Percentage of field goal attempts from three point range.
  • Free Throw Rate
    Number of free throw attempts per field goal attempt.
  • Offensive Rebound %
    An estimate of the percentage of available offensive rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
  • Defensive Rebound %
    An estimate of the percentage of available defensive rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
  • Total Rebound %
    An estimate of the percentage of available rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
  • Assist %
    An estimate of the percentage of teammate field goals a player assisted while they were on the floor.
  • Steal %
    An estimate of the percentage of opponent possessions that end with a steal by the player while they were on the floor.
  • Block %
    An estimate of the percentage of opponent two-point field goal attempts blocked by the player while they were on the floor.
  • Turnover %
    An estimate of turnovers committed per 100 plays.
  • Usage %
    An estimate of the percentage of team plays used by a player while they were on the floor.
  • Fantasy Points Per Game
    NBA Fantasy Points Per Game.
  • Fantasy Points Per Minute
    NBA Fantasy Points Per Minute.
True Shooting %
0.0%
 
Effective Field Goal %
0.0%
 
3-Point Attempt Rate
66.7%
 
Free Throw Rate
0.0%
 
Offensive Rebound %
0.0%
 
Defensive Rebound %
0.0%
 
Total Rebound %
0.0%
 
Assist %
0.0%
 
Steal %
6.9%
 
Block %
0.0%
 
Turnover %
0.0%
 
Usage %
20.8%
 
Fantasy Points Per Game
1.5
 
Fantasy Points Per Minute
0.5
 
Total
Per Game
Per 36
NBA Historical Fantasy Stats
How are these ratings calculated?
Our historical fantasy ratings are standard scores calculated using 8-Category settings with 12 teams and 13 players per team.
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Bulls Rotation: Minutes Breakdown
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Average Fantasy Points
Average Fantasy Points are determined when Noa Essengue was active vs. non-active during the season. Click here to view average fantasy points for a different time period.
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More Fantasy News
Ruled out for Wednesday
FChicago Bulls
Out For Season
December 2, 2025
Essengue (shoulder) has been ruled out for Wednesday's game against the Nets.
ANALYSIS
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Out Monday with bruised shoulder
FChicago Bulls
Out For Season
November 30, 2025
Essengue won't play Monday against the Magic due to a left shoulder contusion.
ANALYSIS
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Dealing with shoulder issue
FWindy City Bulls   G League (Bulls)
Out For Season
November 29, 2025
Essengue sustained a shoulder contusion in Friday's 142-135 G League win over the Cleveland Charge, Chuck Swirsky of the Bulls Radio Network reports.
ANALYSIS
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Assigned to G League
FWindy City Bulls   G League (Bulls)
November 25, 2025
Chicago assigned Essengue to the G League's Windy City Bulls on Tuesday, Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic reports.
ANALYSIS
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Recalled by Chicago
FChicago Bulls
November 22, 2025
The Bulls recalled Essengue from the G League's Windy City Bulls on Saturday.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Remaining on development track
FChicago Bulls
November 13, 2025
Head coach Billy Donovan stated that Essengue will continue to receive opportunities to grow and develop in the G League, Joe Cawley of the Chicago Sun Times reports.
ANALYSIS
These comments come after Essengue showed incredible promise in his G League debut, dropping 28 points on an 11-for-21 shooting performance from the field. While his scoring numbers were impressive, the team remains focused on bringing the rookie along the right way. "I think sometimes you can get preoccupied with the scoring aspect of it," said Donovan. "I know he had a big night offensively, but if he's getting out in transition, getting to the backboard, slashing, cuts, that's great. I think we all know the shooting part of it needs to continue to develop, his body needs to continue to develop, but can he get things into the game we're going to need him to?"
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