Noah Penda: the right match for the 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 finest 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 could possibly be an awesome decide for the Boston Celtics in the event that they wish 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 might convey one other various to Mazzulla-ball.

Able to win

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

“As he’s a competitor and really dedicated to the group venture, I feel an already profitable group in search of a participant who can enhance on what already exists can be a very good match. He’s in a position to adapt consistently because of his basketball IQ, and can all the time discover a approach to assist the group and enhance 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 may place a guess on? At 6’8” with a 7-foot wingspan, Penda could be probably the greatest 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 capability to maneuver to the proper place on the proper time (counter-timing, lateral pace to carry off duels). His bodily belongings might make him a Swiss military knife defensively within the NBA and a connector offensively. The ultimate ingredient that I discover reassuring is that he has not stopped progressing to date. I feel this development will proceed within the ultra-competitive atmosphere of the NBA.”

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

Considered one of a sort

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

In the course of 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 alter for enjoying time and examine him to the remainder of the league, he turns into actually distinctive.

In case you give attention to the important thing defensive stats — blocks, steals, rebounds, and fouls — his total influence is the perfect within the league.

Normalizing the numbers to 40 minutes for all Professional A gamers smooths out the affect of taking part in 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 influence on that aspect 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 finest at triggering transition alternatives — serving to Le Mans strain opposing offenses and defenses alike. One other marker of his influence? He’s among the many gamers defending probably the most isolations per recreation. That form of quantity exhibits he’s incessantly matched up with the opponent’s prime 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 varied profiles — from very fast level guards to post-up large males.

Right here’s one instance: Penda is guarding probably the greatest level guards within the league. On paper, a participant with Noah’s measurement shouldn’t have the ability to sustain with that form of pace. 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 talent 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 straightforward 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 under 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 like he’s about to get blown by, his wingspan and hand-eye coordination enable 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 group can run in transition. In at the moment’s recreation, the place pick-and-rolls dominate, Penda is constructed to blow them up. He’s cell and powerful sufficient to protect both the ball-handler or the screener. And as soon as the scoring menace is neutralized, his size makes passes far harder to execute.

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

In a league the place spacing is the whole lot, a profile like Noah Penda’s could be the important thing to constructing an awesome 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 capability. He is ready to get stops, certainly, however he can even 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 actual worth comes from his capability to dribble and move to launch the transition.

The numbers say it clearly — Noah Penda is a one-of-a-kind defender in France, perhaps 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 might make him one 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 could possibly be an awesome 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 aspect of the courtroom. He can move on the transfer, which could possibly be nice as a roll-man or in a secondary ball-handler position. Like Luke Kornet, he may also be a stationary offensive hub because of his capability to learn performs and discover the open man. General, he’s a prepared and good passer. As he ranks within the 59th percentile in assists per 40 minutes amongst wings, it exhibits how a lot of a group participant he’s.

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

Offensively, he can even drive and play together 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 wish to assault mismatches, he might 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 so much, and insights from Le Mans teaching workers counsel that he’s very severe 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 together with his 3-point effectivity, enhancing from 24% to 34% over 4 years. However will or not it’s sufficient to play within the NBA? One factor is definite: his work ethic is powerful. After we requested Coach Vizade about it, right here’s what he needed to say:

“Noah is a participant who could 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 together with his dedication and over the three years I’ve all the time had a participant with a thirst for studying and evolving each day. He additionally connects nicely together with his companions and makes certain he’s all the time supporting them on either side of the courtroom.”

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

Noah Penda can have an on the spot influence on the group that drafts him. Defensively, he’ll be simple to plug into varied 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 group seeking to retool for the longer term? With a lot of the different Celtics already elite shooters, he might convey one thing totally different. Penda might provide what Vacation gave the Celtics on the defensive finish and discover a position off the ball on offense.