First Impressions: Nolan Traoré’s Pro Debut
Scouting the seventeen year old French/Malian NBA draft prospect who signed to a first division French club, playing 15 minutes in his debut.
This year’s NBA Draft keeps being dubbed a “weak” draft mostly due to the lack of star potential in the projected lottery (I personally believe this is a misnomer because this class is flush with role players and complementary pieces through the projected second round). That is far from the case for next year’s draft class that features Cooper Flagg, Ace Bailey and Khaman Maluach in the projected top five along with many other potential cornerstones throughout the first round.
One such talent is Nolan Traoré, the French and Malian point guard out of France’s National Institute of Sport, Expertise, and Performance (INSEP, also known as Pôle France or Centre Fédéral de Basket-ball) and the newest addition to Saint-Quentin (SQBB) in France’s Betclic Élite.
Making the jump from France’s third division directly to the Betclic Élite (first division) is quite the feat, even more so for a player who isn’t even 18 yet. Traoré was more than ready for the transition though, as he averaged 16.8 points, 5.5 assists and 2.0 steals per game for INSEP and turned it up a notch in his final five games for 20.4 points, 6.4 assists per game on 52% shooting from the field.
It should be noted that INSEP isn’t your average third division team. It has long served as a developmental training ground for France’s most promising young athletes across many sports, and some of their basketball alumni include Clint Capela, Evan Fournier, Tony Parker and Boris Diaw. To get game reps, they play competition in France’s Nationale 1, the country’s third division.
As if there weren’t enough pressure on the youngster in his big move, his first game in France’s top flight would be against the powerhouse of Monaco (Euroleague all-time leading scorer Mike James sat out). Traoré had a very solid first showing, so we analyzed his Saint-Quentin debut and contextualized it with information from the rest of the season.
Physical
Traoré is a big guard at 6’5” with a thin build but a frame that should allow him to bulk up a bit. He has good speed and a surprising first step. He has a 6’8” wingspan and at Basketball Without Borders Global in February, he measured one of the best max vertical jump heights at 34.5”.
Offense
As mentioned, Traoré’s first step can be devastating. He creates a downhill moment out of nothing and it’s a huge advantage to his finishing ability.
Traoré’s first step typically helps him beat his primary defender but when help rotates over or he meets the next line of defense, he gets creative with his finishes. He has good size for his position but the creativity makes it that much easier for him to score. He mastered this with his previous club but still needs time to adapt to the increased athleticism from big men at the top level.
As a scorer, Traoré clearly prefers to get to the rim over anything else. Only when he senses resistance does he look for areas to stop short and pull up. His shot falls frequently in short and midrange scenarios, but his three ball needs some work. This season, he shot 29.8% from behind the arc. Last season, 27.1%. In his first game with SQBB, he didn’t attempt a single three pointer.
It’s encouraging that Traoré has confidence in his shot despite poor three point percentages over the past two seasons. His success in the midrange and at the free throw line with his 75% free throw percentage (80% over his last five games) bode well for his shot development especially when you take into account the side steps and step backs he currently employs. I also don’t put too much stock into his three point efficiency at this point given his age and the competition he faces. Next year may offer a better barometer for his shooting.
Traoré’s most translatable skill is his passing. He took no time adjusting on this front as he had four assists in his first professional game. He can pass creatively with either hand off movement and has impeccable vision and instincts. His passing pops in pick and roll situations as well as isolation scenarios.
Take this lob for example. Traoré recognizes his teammate is in a good position and finds a way to get it to him so that only he can affect the ball, zipping a one-handed pass right to the big’s airspace.
At the lower level, Traoré was able to use his athleticism to make jump passes and make up his mind on the target while in the air. This might be harder to do at the next level, though there’s proof of it working in the NBA.
Defense
The defensive intensity Traoré displays is tremendous. He knows how to use his tools to make life difficult for the offense. This may be his best skill following his passing.
Traoré is agile on and off the ball and constantly has his head on a swivel. That awareness and his quick reactions enable him to average 2.0 steals per game in National 1 and be a disrupter who gets deflections on the ball and from the help side regularly.
Traoré isn’t afraid to pick up full court for an entire game, which also says a lot about him as a leader. It’s easy for a team’s star player or leading scorer to rest on the defensive end but you can tell the guard takes pride in it.
He applies good theoretical knowledge of defensive concepts like how to get through and around screens and worked hard to get back in front or switch when necessary in his SQBB debut. These didn’t always materialize into stops but there is a good base present.
Areas for Improvement
There’s a lot to like about Traoré but like any prospect, there are pieces to work on. Other than shooting, Traoré can improve his turnovers and rebounding.
He’s an adventurous passer so some turnovers are expected, but there are definitely opportunities for him to tighten things up. Despite his four assists for SQBB, he also had three turnovers. That might get fixed with maturity but it’s worth calling out because he averaged 3.1 turnovers per game with INSEP. Despite this, he still boasted a positive assist/turnover ratio of 1.8. Another reason not to worry is that in his last five games where all his stats improved, the turnovers did too as they went down to two per game and he had a 2.3 assist/turnover ratio.
With Traoré’s athleticism, it was a surprise to see him average so few rebounds. Some of that may be the nature of his primary position, as he must be the first one back on defense, but he could be more aggressive in hunting boards. For INSEP, he averaged three rebounds per game and he grabbed just one in 15 minutes for SQBB.
Outlook
French point guards not named Tony Parker have had a rough go in the NBA. That could be due to many factors but one that sticks out to me is the number of skills they do well. That’s where the Killian Hayes’, Franck Ntilikinas and Theo Maledons of the basketball world differ from Nolan Traoré; one player might be a really good passer, another really good at defense, while another one can score. Traoré excels at both passing and defense right now and the jury’s still out when it comes to shooting.
Traoré is a combo guard in the most ideal sense. He’s a big, natural point guard who can play off the ball instead of the other way around despite his above average athleticism. Modern systems covet this type of profile and the fact that he plays good defense raises his ceiling even higher. The thing that remains to be seen is how he can fit into a team where he doesn’t have elevated usage. For INSEP, he averaged a 30.1 usage rate and in his 15 minutes with SQBB, he had a surprising 37.3 usage rate. Even though the 2025 draft is loaded, lottery consideration is not out of the question depending on his next 365 days of play.
It still remains to be seen what path Traoré will take in his final season before the next draft. He could stay at Saint-Quentin, join Gonzaga or other universities as originally thought, or explore the NBL Next Stars. There’s always the option of integrating other European clubs too. In the meantime, American audiences can get a better look at his play during the Nike Hoop Summit later this month as Traoré joins a stacked World team.
A new launchpad for French prospects?
An injury to point guard Tyger Campbell forced Saint-Quentin’s management to look for replacement options as the season winds down and the club sits at the middle of the standings. Because of the time of year, it was difficult to pry more experienced players away from their clubs so they instead made history by signing an INSEP prospect to a professional contract in the middle of a season for the first time.
Saint-Quentin is continuing an intriguing trend of bringing in top French youth to elevate their draft standing and improve the club. Even if they aren’t able to retain Traoré’s services next year (he’s rumored to be leaning toward joining an NBL Next Stars outfit), this move further solidified the northern club as a safe haven for French youth to develop and get real playing opportunities — something that is consistently lacking across Europe — before continuing toward their NBA trajectories.
Melvin Ajinça has been a member of SQBB all season and is a consensus late first/early second round prospect in this year’s draft.
Hugo Besson, a second round draft pick in the 2022 draft, led the entire second division in scoring and was nominated for MVP during his lone season at SQBB. His jersey has already been retired by the club.
Rudy Gobert was born in St. Quentin and played in their youth system before joining a more established system for French youth in Cholet.