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Nolan Traoré

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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

[edit]

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

[edit]

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

[edit]

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

[edit]
  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.
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