NBA Draft day edges ever closer and closer, and as it does and as more workouts, prospect interviews, and intel emerge, there is a jostle for draft stock positioning as we get late into the game. Some prospects climb late, while others fall late — one particular memory was that of 2016 NBA Draft, when green room invitee and projected lottery selection Deyonta Davis slid all the way out of the first round completely to 31st overall.
International prospects can see swings in their draft stock, especially in the second round where a lack of intel can lead to prospects being undrafted. Conversely, if a team is enamored by an international prospect they may select a prospect higher than expected in fear of their player being selected by another — we’ve all heard the Giannis Antetokuonmpo 2013 draft story before.
Thiss prospect might be an example of the former. Ttoday we’re looking at another prospect from the French league: 19 year old guard Nolan Traore. Traore turned 19 at the end of May and enters this draft with age on his side. Standing at 6-foot-4 with a 6-foot-8 wingspan, Traore averaged 12.2 points per game on 41% shooting on 10.5 attempts, 31.4% from three on four attempts, 71% from the free throw line on 3.4 attempts, 1.9 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 2.5 turnovers, and 0.7 steals in 22.7 minutes per game in 44 games played, per RealGM.
Productive stats for Traore at 18 years old for a pro side in France’s top division, so let’s look at the film and see what’s what with Nolan Traore.
Offense/scoring
Traore’s greatest offensive trait is arguably his pace; he’s very quick with the ball in his hands and he’s able to use this to turbo into the paint and he is able to score in the paint/at the rim, both in halfcourt and open -court situations.
To start, Traore uses the screen to get a bit of separation and he drives inside, absorbs the contact and finishes at the rim, plus the foul:
This time, Traore beats his man off the dribble, takes the bump, and gets to the rim to finish the basket and draws the foul and free throw:
On a switch, Traore attacks, gets ahead of his man and finishes at the rim:
Again, Traore beats his man out front, evades the defense behind, and finishes at the rim:
Traore likes to get downhill not just to finish at the rim, but he also likes to get into his runner/floater to score on back-pedalling defenses.
Traore gets into the lane on this possession off the screen and hits the runner around the free throw line:
Traore can be strong in this types of situations where he comes off the screen and the defense is waiting for him to go to the rim, but instead Traore again gets to his runner and scores:
Traore prefers to use his stronger right hand and rarely seems inclined to use his left hand to finish, demonstrating a lack of confidence in his weak-hand right; on this drive Traore drives inside and instead of going using his left hand he hits the right-handed runner:
In traffic on this play, Traore gets inside the lane, hangs, and hits the runner off glass:
Traore is able to cover a lot of ground quickly as he does on this possession, using the screen before turning on the jets to get to the rim and scoring, showcasing his impressive foot speed in the process:
Traore can also achieve this in transition, and he does so on this possession as he uses his speed to evade the defense and finish at the rim:
Again, when he receives the ball Traore is off to the races and he gets all the way to the rim again in the full-court and his shot is called for a goal-tend:
Traore combines this threat of getting to the rim with potential from behind the arc. Traore combines his three-point shooting both from catch-and-shoot and off-the-dribble.
On this play, Traore is located off the ball in the weakside corner and when the ball is swung to him Traore rises to connect on the three:
In the corner again, Traore makes a good move off the ball to free up more space for himself for when he receives the ball and he hits the three:
On this play, the ball is swung to Traore, who waits for the defense to fly-by before rising into the three:
Traore occasionally flashed potential hitting a deeper three-pointer, hitting the deep three on the wing on this play:
Traore also showed potential in hitting threes off the dribble, pulling up in transition for three on this possession:
Again heading up the floor, Traore takes advantage of a defense not fully set to pull up above the break and hit the three:
After the screen, Traore sizes up the defender on the perimeter and showcases the confidence in his shot and drains the three over the defender:
Traore’s offense is mostly based on layups/runners and threes, and while he shows potential in these areas Traore is quite a raw prospect offensively at times. He lacks refinement and consistency in both his finishing and his shooting; both of which can suffer from poor shot selection at times.
On this play, Traore is unable to get inside on the drive and instead settles for a contested three which misses:
Inside the arc this time, Traore again is unable to shake his man and settles for the jumpshot, which ends in an airball:
When the path to the rim is cut off by two defenders, Traore again settles on the perimeter and misses badly on this jumpshot:
On a late contest on a three, Traore misses wildly on his three, hanging his head after the attempt:
On the drive this time, Traore finds himself in traffic but still takes the shot inside at the rim and misses:
Traore can also make some sloppy errors on the offensive end which can lead to turnovers; his inexperience playing its part.
On the drive inside, Traore dribbles the ball off himself and stumbles out of bounds attempting to recover:
On the drive in the open-court, Traore gets to the rim and loses his balance, allowing the defense to pounce on him:
Passing/playmaking
Traore averaged 4.7 assists per game, varying from pick-and-roll, transition, and breaking the defense down off of drives.
Let’s look at pick-and-roll playmaking first, where the majority of Traore’s playmaking took place.
On this pick-and-roll, Traore fires an impressive one-handed pass behind the defense for the assist at the rim:
Here, Traore engages in the pick-and-roll and delivers a bounce-pass which leads to an assist on the floater:
Again, Traore executes a solid bounce-pass out of the pick-and-roll for another assist:
This time Traore rejects the screen but loops a pass over the top to find his rolling teammate for the assist at the rim:
Again, Traore finds his teammate after the pick-and-roll with a pass over the defense for the assist:
Traore also possesses an awareness of the court around him and can use pick-and-roll to find his teammates away from the screen.
Here for instance, Traore operates the pick-and-roll and fires a cross-court pass to the weak-side for an assist on the three in the corner:
Again off of the pick-and-roll, Traore finds his teammate on the weak-side for an opportunity for a three:
Traore uses his ability to get to the rim — both in transition and in the half-court — to set up his teammates.
In transition, Traore evades the defense and draws the defense to him before finding his on-rushing teammate for the assist:
Off of a miss, Traore pushes in transition and finds his teammate for the alley-oop assist:
In the half-court, Traore drives inside and kicks the ball back to his teammate for the assist on the three:
Again Traore drives into the paint and kicks the ball out behind him for another assist on the three:
However, while Traore has the right idea/intention at times passing the ball, his execution needs refinement.
In transition, Traore charges ahead but his pass out of the lane to his teammate on the wing is kind of just chucked out without any legs and it sadly bounces at his teammates feet, forcing a pass which, although leads to a shot and a three, could have ended the opportunity on a different occasion:
In transition, Traore again charges ahead and his pass out from the baseline out to the perimeter is misplaced, and it the chance for the transition three is killed;
When Traore drives, his passes out of drives can result in turnovers.
In the pick-and-roll, Traore drives inside but his pass to his left is deflected:
On a good drive to the rim, Traore gets caught with a difficult situation in traffic and his attempted pass out results in a turnover:
On another drive, Traore gets into the lane but his pass hits off the foot of the defender (which was heading right to the feet of his teammate anyways) and results in another turnover:
Defense
Defensively, I didn’t really like a lot of what I saw from Traore, who was hidden off-ball as much as possible, but if I had something positive to say it would be that his length certainly helps him contest some shots and grab an occasional steal.
Traore’s length here helps effectively contests the three on the wing:
On this play, Traore shifts about to contest this three in the corner, resulting in a miss:
Here, Traore doesn’t know a whole lot about this steal but his outstretched arms will get credit for it as they deflect the attempted pass:
Traore knows a lot more about this steal, however, as his length gets all the way down to deflect the pass and Traore leads the fastbreak, scoring at the rim in transition off of his steal:
Traore can tend to commit fouls and can be beaten on drives such as this play:
On the drive, Traore commits the foul as the defender goes by him:
Traore does well on this possession to initially stick with the drive but lacks the discipline to finish the play as he’s called for the foul:
There are good plays such as this one, where Traore sticks with the drive and produces the block in the lane:
But plays like this I wouldn’t say are common. Traore, while possessing good length/a strong wingspan and good foot-speed is a bit undisciplined and was hidden where possible in France. In the NBA, I fear he’d be eaten alive defensively.
In summary
Nolan Traore is a shifty, quick guard who has potential in getting to the rim. He’s a wirey guard who has bundles of pace with the ball and can put pressure on back-pedalling defenses. He can finish at the rim and he can get to his runner/floater to mix it up in the paint. Traore can also draw fouls in these situations, leading to free throws. Traore can also hit the three-pointer, both off the ball in catch-and-shoot situations and occasionally handling the ball in pull-up situations. While he can score at a decent level, his finishing at the rim and his three-point shooting can be quite inconsistent. Traore is reluctant to use his off-hand and can put himself in awkward situations at times driving to his left and trying to angle himself to finish with his right hand. Traore can get sucked into shooting bad shots, and this selection of shots needs to improve
Despite his inconsistencies on offense, Traore was productive in a meaningful role for a professional side in a competitive league all at the age of 18. The team who selects Traore will need be to be patient to iron out some of the kinks in his game.
From a playmaking perspective, Traore can find a pass out of the pick-and-roll, and while these passes are typically on target but I wouldn’t call his passing elite right now; he’s still very much developing a finishing touch to his passing, which can sometimes be left wanting at the crucial moments in transition where a teammate has to adjust from a bad pass, taking away the opportunity to potentially spring into a shot. Traore’s strengths include being able to drive inside and break down his man, but when he wants to pass out of these opportunities he can get caught and these passes often result in turnovers.
Defensively, there’s good physical tools to work with Traore — great wingspan, strong foot-speed — but his consistency, discipline, and overall tendencies need a lot of work before he can be deemed any plus on defense. I’d worry about Traore’s ability to be a plus, maybe even average defender at the NBA level.
What other draft outlets report
Sam Vecenie of The Athletic dropped a mock draft in May where he mocked Traore 13th overall to the Hawks, but in his June mock Traore has plummeted to 26th overall with this to add:
Traoré rebounded well from a tough start to his pro season in France. From Jan. 15 to April 6, Traoré averaged 13 points and four assists while shooting 50 percent from the field, 35 percent from 3 and 79 percent from the line. His overall numbers on the year aren’t that strong, but it’s worth remembering that he’s a teenager playing professional basketball for a full season for the first time.
I think it’s very possible he’ll be on the board for the Nets when they pick at No. 19. Here, they get lucky and get him all the way down at No. 26 as a real value pick with potential to be very valuable down the road.
The stats from January onwards certainly help spin a more positive picture of Traore, however all the clips you’ve seen take place from February onwards, highlighting the issues still found within Traore’s game. The experience side of things is of course going to be Traore’s big strength, the idea of ‘Look at his production for how young he is,’ which is of course valid.
Jonathan Givony of ESPN mocked Traore 18th overall to the Washington Wizards:
The Wizards don’t have a surefire, starting-caliber point guard they can point to on the roster currently and can afford to take a swing on talent with Traore, who just turned 19 and is arguably the best passer in this draft.
After starting the season projected as a top-10 pick, Traore’s draft stock dropped because of inconsistent play, but there’s still plenty to like with his size, ballhandling, playmaking creativity and upside, making him a worthy gamble for a team in Washington’s situation and at this point in the draft.
Givony rightly highlights the inconsistency of Traore’s play but notes the upside associated with Traore. For a team like Washington, Traore makes a lot more sense; a team who has time on their side to allow players to develop.
Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports! mocked Traore 20th overall to the Miami Heat, with a specific team focus on the team itself:
Pat Riley said he has no plans to retire and that “80 is the new 60,” so it’s hard to imagine the Heat going with a raw project in the draft. But would a talent like Traoré be too much to pass up on? The Frenchman oozes upside with his size, blazing speed, and shiftiness off the bounce. Inefficient scoring and erratic decision-making are the big concerns with him, but he’s played his best basketball in recent months by shooting nearly 40% from 3 and 80% from the line. Riley may want to win now, but maybe he should think about the long-term future of the franchise too.
‘Upside but erratic’ is probably the most fitting manner in which Traore can be described at this time and I do not think it’s worth selecting Traore in a ‘win now’ situation like the Heat perpetually find themselves wanting.
Danny Chau of The Ringer makes a much more compelling case as to why the Heat would select Traore 20th overall:
Traore’s stock seemingly has been in free fall from the moment he lit up the Nike Hoop Summit in April 2024. He was projected as a drink-stirring lead guard who could use his speed and wiggliness to create advantages with the ball in his hands, but aside from a recent surge for Saint-Quentin, there hasn’t been enough reliably efficient scoring. Miami has a history of taking disappointing performers with major pedigree and instilling confidence in them. Is there a huge difference between Traore and someone like Jeremiah Fears, who’s projected to go much higher? Several NBA decision makers don’t think so. Maybe Miami is among that group, too.
Chau added much more of Traore as an overall prospect, beginning with the context of how highly rated prior to the draft-cycle Traore was:
Just a year ago, Traore was commonly thought of as one of the five best NBA prospects in the world. He had dominated the international youth circuit and made a strong impression in his promotion to the French big leagues as a 17-year-old. He was deemed a savior of sorts, the true heir apparent to Tony Parker, after a string of French guard prospects fizzled out of the NBA for one reason or another. But the road to the draft is hardly ever linear. Traore’s 2024-25 season has been turbulent. There were a handful of games before the turn of the New Year in which he shot no better than 25 percent from the field and, in most cases, way worse. But his scoring efficiency has course corrected in 2025. And that resilience is an encouraging sign.
Speed has always been Traore’s gift, though it’s rendered a bit differently than, say, Russell Westbrook’s or John Wall’s. Traore’s first step is less a concentrated bolt of lightning and more like the kick of an endurance runner being propelled by gale-force winds. Less power but more grace. There might not be a player in the draft better equipped to turn the corner on a screen, bending his way around the defense. Traore has a strong understanding of the dynamic between his quickness and the attention of the defense, too. There is a thrill in seeing him diagnose the floor, recognize that he has three sets of eyes on him during his initial bolt toward the rim, and punish the over-indexed defense with a crosscourt skip pass, a lofting lob delivered upon a dead stop, a perfect pocket pass on a live dribble. It’s high-level basketball intuition from a player so young.
I’d chime in here briefly just to agree with the assessment of Traore’s pace: he’s flipping quick and turns a corner so quickly. Less athletic of course than Westbrook and Wall, but still very effective and devastating at times; it’s remarkable how quickly he can cover the ground and it’s too late for the defense to react.
When it works, Traore’s self-generated offense honors past icons. He has good touch on his floaters and runners, as one would expect of a Parker acolyte; his contortionist body control and use of the glass on driving layups conjure grainy footage of Rod Strickland in the ’90s. But he is largely a below-the-rim player, and he’s had significant struggles finishing around the rim at the French league level; it’ll only get more difficult against longer, more athletic NBA competition. He has smooth pull-up mechanics—again, working off the threat of his first step—and there have been flashes of legitimate shotmaking ability, but the overall accuracy from 3 simply has not been there throughout his young career. It’s a crucial piece of the puzzle. The lack of development in that regard could wind up being a deciding factor between becoming a lottery selection and wading in the morass that is the back half of the first round.
Given his age, build, and lack of strength training to this point, Traore’s largely been an absentee on defense in his first full season as a top-tier French professional, but he has the tools and court sense to become an on-ball hound in time. Ultimately, the bet on Traore is a bet on youth and his particular avenue of advantage creation on offense. How his dismal start to the season will weigh against his distinct traits looms large.
Most outlets appear to agree that Traore is more so a projection pick than one that can make an immediate splash.
Fit with the Hawks
The play — and availability — of Kobe Bufkin as backup point guard has obviously given cause for concern for the Hawks going forward. Unless there’s a strong step in 2025-26, the Hawks I’d speculate will have to begin to look elsewhere for dependable backup for Young. Drafting Nolan Traore would not be an immediate fix for this, but potentially one for the future; and that’s how you’d have to justify the pick.
Young and Traore have similarities in their game you can talk yourself into: decent turn of pace, can get into the paint, can get to the floater, penetration inside leading to opportunities for teammates, pick-and-roll playmaking, and streaky shooting. Not to say that Traore is close to Young in any of these categories other than speed, but if the Hawks wanted to mould Traore in the shape of Young/a point guard their second unit, they have some similarities.
All of this is a bit of a reach; it’s just to justify why the Hawks might like the fit and why they may want to select Traore at 13th/22nd overall; though the latter seems a lot more likely as a landing spot than the 13th spot once was.
When Sam Vecenie mocked Traore 13th overall back in May, he had this to say about the fit with the Hawks:
The Hawks just moved Bogdan Bogdanović this past trade deadline. They do have Caris LeVert, but he’s entering free agency. They could use another player in the backcourt who could both play with Trae Young or could back up Young as the lead ballhandler in bench units. That’s what they were hoping for with Kobe Bufkin, who has been unable to stay healthy.
22nd overall appears to be a potential play for the Hawks and given the questions at point guard with Bufkin, Traore will have to be considered as a legitimate option for the Hawks in this spot. There’s a few reasons not to like the selection but the more you ponder the Hawks’ predicament the more it might just make sense...