Nolan Traoré

Nolan Traoré
Traoré with the French under-18 team in 2024
No. 2 – Saint-Quentin
PositionPoint guard
LeagueLNB Pro A
Champions League
Personal information
Born (2006-05-28) 28 May 2006 (age 18)
Créteil, Val-de-Marne, France
Listed height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight175 lb (79 kg)
Career information
Playing career2021–present
Career history
2021–2024Centre Fédéral
2024–presentSaint-Quentin
Career highlights and awards

Nolan Traoré (born 28 May 2006) is a French professional basketball player for Saint-Quentin Basket-Ball of the LNB Élite and the Basketball Champions League. He is considered one of the top prospects for the 2025 NBA draft.

Early life

Traoré was born on 28 May 2006 and grew up in the French commune Chennevières-sur-Marne.[1][2] He is the younger brother of basketball player Armel Traoré.[3] He began playing basketball at age four with the club COC Chennevières and played with them from 2010 to 2014.[4] He then spent three years with VGA Saint-Maur Omnisports [fr], being a member of the U9, U10 and U11 teams there.[5]

Traoré joined the club Saint-Charles Charenton [fr] in 2017.[6] While at Saint-Charles Charenton, he also played for the Pôle Espoirs Île-de-France from 2019 to 2021; he played at the French junior championships in 2020–21 and averaged over 16 points per game.[6][7]

Traoré received his baccalauréat in 2023, one year early.[4]

Professional career

Traoré was admitted to the training institute INSEP in 2021 and began playing for their affiliated team, Centre Fédéral de Basket-ball.[8] Playing in the French third tier, Nationale Masculine 1, he averaged 2.2 points in 2021–22, 11.2 points in 2022–23, and then 16.8 points in 2023–24.[1] He was their leading player during the 2023–24 season and had a rating of over 30 in several games; he was also named the team's player of the month multiple times.[9] In the 2024 Adidas Next Generation Tournament (ANGT) against Barcelona, he scored a record 45 points while helping INSEP win in overtime.[10] He won an award at the end of the season as the best young player in the league.[11]

Traoré was signed to Saint-Quentin Basket-Ball in the French top tier, LNB Pro A, at the end of March 2024, and later made his debut against AS Monaco Basket.[12][13] Later in the season, he set the all-time league record for most points in a game by a player under 18, with 25.[14] He ended the season with seven games played and 10.3 points per game.[1]

Traoré was projected as a lottery pick in ESPN's February 2024 mock 2025 NBA draft.[10] In April 2024, he participated in the Nike Hoop Summit all-star game, being one of the top performers with 18 points and four assists against top-ranked NBA prospects.[15][16] After the season 2023–24 season, Traoré had offers to play for a number of teams, including many top U.S. college basketball programs, but opted to stay in France, announcing his intention to sign a two-year contract with Saint-Quentin on 1 June 2024.[10] On 3 October, Traoré made his European debut and scored 27 points in a Champions League home win against Kolossos Rhodes.[17] It was the most points scored in a Champions League game by a player under age 21, beating the previous record of Alperen Şengün.[18]

International career

Traoré represented France at the 2022 FIBA U16 European Championship, averaging 13.6 points.[19] In 2023, he participated at the FIBA U18 European Championship and averaged 8.6 points.[19]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Nolan Traore". Proballers.com.
  2. ^ "Nolan TRAORÉ". FIBA 3×3.
  3. ^ "Nolan Traoré (17 ans) pigiste médical à Saint-Quentin en Betclic Élite" [Nolan Traoré (17 years old) medical freelancer in Saint-Quentin in Betclic Élite]. L'Équipe (in French). 28 March 2024.
  4. ^ a b Lesage, Julien (26 January 2024). "Promis à la NBA et la tête bien faite : Nolan Traoré, la nouvelle pépite du basket français" [Promised to the NBA and with a good head: Nolan Traoré, the new nugget of French basketball]. Le Parisien (in French).
  5. ^ "Félicitations à Nolan TRAORE" [Congratulations to Nolan TRAORE] (in French). VGA Saint-Maur Omnisports [fr]. 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Nolan TRAORE (1ère année au Pôle) passé par le COC Basket, la VGA basket et évoluant actuellement à la Saint Charles Basketball" [Nolan TRAORE (1st year at the Pole) passed through COC Basket, VGA basketball and currently playing at Saint Charles Basketball.]. Facebook (in French). Pôle Espoirs Île-de-France. 15 November 2019.
  7. ^ "Toutes les saisons de joueur TRAORE Nolan" [All seasons of the player TRAORE Nolan]. MR Stats (in French).
  8. ^ "Nolan Traoré et Talis Soulhac intègrent le Pole France !" [Nolan Traoré and Talis Soulhac join Pole France!] (in French). Saint-Charles Charenton [fr]. 2021.
  9. ^ Guérineau, Julien (13 December 2023). "Nolan Traoré, l'explosion" [Nolan Traoré, the explosion] (in French). French Federation of Basketball.
  10. ^ a b c Givony, Jonathan (1 June 2024). "Projected 2025 NBA lottery pick Nolan Traore staying in France". ESPN.
  11. ^ Lacoste, Alexandre (24 April 2024). "Aaron Levarity couronné MVP de Nationale 1, Nolan Traoré et le HTV à l'honneur" [Aaron Levarity crowned MVP of Nationale 1, Nolan Traoré and HTV in the spotlight]. BeBasket.fr (in French).
  12. ^ Jonneau, Eric; Sanson, Nicolas (28 March 2024). "Basket (Élite) : Nolan Traoré (17 ans) rejoint le SQBB comme pigiste médical" [Basketball (Elite): Nolan Traoré (17 years old) joins the SQBB as a medical freelancer.]. Le Courrier picard [fr] (in French).{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ "Nolan Traore" (in French). LNB Élite.
  14. ^ Lacoste, Alexandre (8 May 2024). "Nolan Traoré, premier mineur de l'histoire à 25 points en Betclic ÉLITE : " Il progresse match après match "" [Nolan Traoré, first minor in history to 25 points in Betclic ELITE: “He progresses match after match”]. BeBasket.fr (in French).
  15. ^ Peek, Krysten (15 April 2024). "Cooper Flagg, AJ Dybantsa and Nolan Traore among standouts at Nike Hoop Summit". Yahoo!.
  16. ^ Hines, Jam (19 April 2024). "A Scout's Take: Assessing Nolan Traore's 2024 Nike Hoop Summit Performance". Sports Illustrated.
  17. ^ "Manisa stun Murcia, 18-year-old Traore shines on big night for BCL debutants". www.championsleague.basketball. Retrieved 2024-10-04.
  18. ^ "Morning After: The kids are alright". www.championsleague.basketball. Retrieved 2024-10-04.
  19. ^ a b "Nolan Traore". FIBA.