Nolan Traoré
French basketball player (born 2006) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nolan Traoré (born 28 May 2006) is a French professional basketball player for Saint-Quentin Basket-Ball of the LNB Élite. He is considered one of the top prospects for the 2025 NBA draft.
 Traoré with the French under-18 team in 2024 | |
| No. 2 – Saint-Quentin | |
|---|---|
| Position | Point guard |
| League | LNB Pro A |
| Personal information | |
| Born | 28 May 2006 Créteil, Val-de-Marne, France |
| Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Listed weight | 175 lb (79 kg) |
| Career information | |
| Playing career | 2021–present |
| Career history | |
| 2021–2024 | Centre Fédéral |
| 2024–present | Saint-Quentin |
| Career highlights | |
| |
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, being a member of the U9, U10 and U11 teams there.[5]
Traoré joined the club Saint-Charles Charenton 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
Summarize
Perspective
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
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