With the 12th pick in the NBA Draft, the Chicago Bulls have selected Noa Essengue, a 6-foot-10 forward with a 7-1 wingspan out of France. Essengue, 18, has played with Ratiopharm Ulm of the Basketball Bundesliga since 2023.

Leading up to the draft, and with Nikola Vucevic entering the final season of his three-year contract, there was a belief that the Bulls could target a more traditional center with the 12th pick. However, Duke’s Khaman Maluach, a longshot at No. 12, fell off the board to the Phoenix Suns (via Houston Rockets) two picks before the Bulls’ selection.

Essengue is the Bulls’ current front office’s fourth first-round selection in six drafts, joining Patrick Williams, Dalen Terry, and Matas Buzelis.

Noa Essengue

Summary: Quintessential toolsy power forward that could boom or bust.

Key Stats: 12.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.4 steals per game

Diehard Big Board Rank: 10th

Strengths:

• Tools and athleticism
  • Measured 6’10, he’s a long, explosive, coordinated athlete.
  • Great in the open floor with 65 dunks.

• Defense
  • Contests well but fouls a decently high amount (4 fouls per 40 minutes).
  • Good rim-protecting instincts.
  • Moves feet well laterally.

• Upside
  • Second youngest player in class.
  • 18.5 on draft night, only three days older than Cooper Flagg.
  • Shows interesting flashes as a passer and finisher, both out of the post and in the short roll.

Questions/Growth Areas:

• Shooting and touch
  • Only 29 percent from three, but his form doesn’t look broken.
  • Big dip in shot, but high release point due to size and length.
  • Only OK as a finisher (52.9 percent on non-dunk shots at the rim), 73 percent on free throws.

• Mobility/defensive versatility
  • Slightly upright, unable to get low to the ground. Not really able to dig into a stance. May just be a 1 position defender.

Plays like: What they hoped Tidjane Salaun would be.

Fit with Bulls: Essengue is exactly the type of player Arturas Karnisovas has targeted in previous drafts: toolsy, athletic wings who are raw offensively. Another project, the Bulls will hope to mold Essengue into a shooter and versatile defender, and ideally, his ball skills. If he hits, he will be a fantastic complement to the core as a transition menace who can thrive in the Bulls’ uptempo offense.

Read more about Essengue in the Diehard Draft Guide.