Noah Penda: the proper match for the Boston Celtics?

With the draft arising quickly and the french basketball season coming to an finish, the timing is ideal to review Noah Penda’s potential as a brand new Celtic. Le Mans Sarthe Basket winger was voted Betclic Élite’s greatest younger participant of the season on Wednesday. He follows within the footsteps of Zaccharie Risacher and Victor Wembanyama, the primary picks of the final two drafts.

He’s projected to go within the second a part of the primary spherical and may very well be an amazing decide for the Boston Celtics in the event that they need to add defensive playmaking and connecting tissue on offense. Because the Celtics finish the season with the Twenty fourth-ranked opponent turnover fee and the Third-lowest transition quantity, Noah Penda may convey one other various to Mazzulla-ball.

Able to win

His coach, Guillaume Vizade, who has labored with him in numerous contexts (in his earlier membership and for the French nationwide under-20 crew), believes a profitable atmosphere just like the Celtics is properly suited to his persona:

“As he’s a competitor and really dedicated to the crew challenge, I believe an already profitable crew in search of a participant who can enhance on what already exists can be a superb match. He’s capable of adapt continually because of his basketball IQ, and can all the time discover a method to assist the crew and increase the productiveness of its line-ups.”

As Jrue Vacation could be traded, and Al Horford not getting any youthful, the Celtics might want to discover elite defenders to replenish the roster. What if the younger man was the defensive prospect they might place a guess on? At 6’8” with a 7-foot wingspan, Penda could be among the finest defensive gamers on this draft, as he’s already the highest defensive playmaker within the French league. His present coach believes his physique is prepared for the massive league:

“Bodily, he has most of the attributes of a contemporary NBA winger. His measurements, his energy and his skill to maneuver to the best place on the proper time (counter-timing, lateral velocity to carry off duels). His bodily property may make him a Swiss military knife defensively within the NBA and a connector offensively. The ultimate aspect that I discover reassuring is that he has not stopped progressing thus far. I believe this development will proceed within the ultra-competitive atmosphere of the NBA.”

Now that you already know what his coach thinks about him, let’s have a look at what the statistics and movie need to say.

Certainly one of a form

With a big sufficient statistical pattern now accessible to check participant performances, it’s simpler to identify the outliers — those that clearly stand out from the pack. Noah Penda is one among them.

Throughout the 2024–2025 season with Le Mans in Betclic Élite, he delivered a defensive efficiency that nobody else has matched. His uncooked stats aren’t all the time eye-catching due to his versatility and the truth that he performs 26 minutes per recreation. However when you regulate for taking part in time and examine him to the remainder of the league, he turns into actually distinctive.

When you give attention to the important thing defensive stats — blocks, steals, rebounds, and fouls — his general affect is one of the best within the league.

Normalizing the numbers to 40 minutes for all Professional A gamers smooths out the affect of enjoying time. Per 40 minutes, Noah Penda averages 1.5 blocks, 1.7 steals, 8.1 rebounds, and simply 2.9 fouls.

So who else in Betclic Élite combines this degree of manufacturing and defensive effectivity? Nobody. No one brings this type of affect on that facet of the ball. The one two gamers who come near his effectivity are Andre Roberson (the previous OKC Thunder participant) and Kevarrius Hayes, however each foul much more.

His defensive presence additionally makes him one of many league’s greatest at triggering transition alternatives — serving to Le Mans strain opposing offenses and defenses alike. One other marker of his affect? He’s among the many gamers defending essentially the most isolations per recreation. That sort of quantity reveals he’s incessantly matched up with the opponent’s high scorer.

Even higher, when opposing scorers end a play in isolation in opposition to Noah Penda, they solely convert 27% of their makes an attempt. How is that doable? As a result of he can guard numerous profiles — from very fast level guards to post-up large males.

Right here’s one instance: Penda is guarding among the finest level guards within the league. On paper, a participant with Noah’s measurement shouldn’t have the ability to sustain with that sort of velocity. However he’s constructed otherwise. His mobility, measurement, and density make him an elite defender in a number of roles.

Within the play above, he defends a fast ball-handler in transition — a uncommon ability for a participant at his place. However that’s not the restrict of his versatility. Within the subsequent motion, he begins within the weak-side nook and, after a pick-and-roll, rotates completely to remove a simple layup on the rim.

He rapidly acknowledges the subsequent menace coming from behind and makes use of his distinctive bodily instruments to dam the shot with one hand.

You’ll even discover sequences just like the one beneath the place he does each in the identical possession. First, his assist on the rim forces the offense to swing the ball to the nook. He rotates, switches to the ball-handler, stays in entrance, and when it looks as if he’s about to get blown by, his wingspan and hand-eye coordination permit him to dam the shot.

Noah Penda’s defensive affect is as versatile as it’s disruptive — and an enormous a part of why his crew can run in transition. In right now’s recreation, the place pick-and-rolls dominate, Penda is constructed to blow them up. He’s cell and robust sufficient to protect both the ball-handler or the screener. And as soon as the scoring menace is neutralized, his size makes passes far more durable to execute.

Even when he’s off the ball, his presence alone complicates passing lanes in tight areas. He reads the sport properly and might afford to gamble or float between two gamers as a result of he gained’t get beat simply. On high of that, he’s assured sufficient with the ball in his arms to push the break and make sensible selections in transition.

In a league the place spacing is every little thing, a profile like Noah Penda’s could be the important thing to constructing an amazing protection. Take this play, for instance: he’s defending a participant only one move away from the ball, however he nonetheless manages to slip over, disrupt the drive, and shut it down because of his distinctive timing and bodily instruments.

The opposite upside to his recreation comes proper after his defensive skill. He is ready to get stops, certainly, however he may also seize the rebound and carry the ball in transition. As talked about earlier, he grabs extra rebounds per 40 minutes than 80% of the Betclic Élite gamers. That’s already actually spectacular. However the true worth comes from his skill to dribble and move to launch the transition.

The numbers say it clearly — Noah Penda is a one-of-a-kind defender in France, possibly even in Europe. Throughout all European leagues, only a few gamers submit this type of defensive output with so few fouls. His mixture of sharp instincts, elite coordination, size, and mobility may make him some of the versatile defenders on this planet. However what about his offense?

Can he be a connector within the nba?

The offense is the largest query mark. What may very well be an amazing upside is his connecting, his passing, and his capability to learn the sport. His nice basketball IQ — which is highlighted by his protection — additionally impacts the opposite facet of the court docket. He can move on the transfer, which may very well be nice as a roll-man or in a secondary ball-handler function. Like Luke Kornet, he will also be a stationary offensive hub because of his skill to learn performs and discover the open man. Total, he’s a prepared and good passer. As he ranks within the 59th percentile in assists per 40 minutes amongst wings, it reveals how a lot of a crew participant he’s.

Whereas the passing appears to be his largest upside on offense, he’s additionally nice at reducing, rating within the seventieth percentile for “cuts made per 40 minutes.” This isn’t a shock, as we regularly see how sensible gamers excel at reducing, passing, and studying the sport. Penda is one among them.

Offensively, he may also drive and play along with his again to the basket, rating within the seventieth percentile in post-up makes an attempt per 40 minutes within the French league. Because the Celtics prefer to assault mismatches, he may additionally convey some slight offensive creation from the post-up in opposition to weaker defenders.

So why wouldn’t it work? Primarily due to the taking pictures. He’s improved lots, and insights from Le Mans teaching workers counsel that he’s very critical and cautious about his taking pictures coaching. And the numbers again up this impression. His free throw share went from 55% in 2021 to 72% this season. Similar along with his 3-point effectivity, enhancing from 24% to 34% over 4 years. However will it’s sufficient to play within the NBA? One factor is for certain: his work ethic is robust. Once we requested Coach Vizade about it, right here’s what he needed to say:

“Noah is a participant who may be very constant in his work and dedication, and this interprets into regularity in his productions. In addition to being constant yearly, he’s making progress in the best way he trains. His intentions progress alongside along with his dedication and over the three years I’ve all the time had a participant with a thirst for studying and evolving every day. He additionally connects properly along with his companions and makes positive he’s all the time supporting them on either side of the court docket.”

If he can attain league-average effectivity on taking pictures in his first seasons, Penda will have the ability to keep on the court docket and turn out to be some of the impactful two-way function gamers. His skill to play all kinds of roles on each offense and protection matches completely within the trendy recreation. At simply 20 years previous, he has already confirmed he might be a part of a profitable atmosphere — and his groups are sometimes at their greatest when he’s on the court docket (66th percentile in plus/minus this season).

Noah Penda may have an instantaneous affect on the crew that drafts him. Defensively, he’ll be straightforward to plug into numerous coverages. Offensively, he can move, minimize, display screen, and transfer with out the ball — or create chaos in transition. What extra are you able to ask for from a rookie in a profitable crew seeking to retool for the long run? With many of the different Celtics already elite shooters, he may convey one thing totally different. Penda may supply what Vacation gave the Celtics on the defensive finish and discover a function off the ball on offense.