Noah Penda: the perfect fit 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 could possibly be an ideal 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 price and the Third-lowest transition quantity, Noah Penda may deliver one other different 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 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 on the lookout for a participant who can enhance on what already exists can be a great match. He’s in a position to adapt continuously due to his basketball IQ, and can all the time discover a method to assist the crew 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 might place a guess on? At 6’8” with a 7-foot wingspan, Penda could be the most effective 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 lots of the attributes of a contemporary NBA winger. His measurements, his energy and his skill to maneuver to the precise place on the proper time (counter-timing, lateral pace to carry off duels). His bodily property may make him a Swiss military knife defensively within the NBA and a connector offensively. The ultimate factor that I discover reassuring is that he has not stopped progressing to date. I believe 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 should say.

Certainly 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 among them.

Through 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 sport. However when you alter for taking part in time and evaluate him to the remainder of the league, he turns into really distinctive.

If you happen to deal with 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 stage of manufacturing and defensive effectivity? Nobody. No one brings this sort 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 stress opposing offenses and defenses alike. One other marker of his affect? He’s among the many gamers defending essentially the most isolations per sport. That form of quantity exhibits he’s regularly 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 varied profiles — from very fast level guards to post-up huge males.

Right here’s one instance: Penda is guarding the most effective level guards within the league. On paper, a participant with Noah’s measurement shouldn’t be capable of sustain with that form of pace. However he’s constructed in a different way. 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 like 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 in the present day’s sport, the place pick-and-rolls dominate, Penda is constructed to blow them up. He’s cellular 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 harder 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 received’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 part, a profile like Noah Penda’s could be the important thing to constructing an ideal 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 due to his distinctive timing and bodily instruments.

The opposite upside to his sport comes proper after his defensive skill. He is ready to get stops, certainly, however he may 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 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, perhaps even in Europe. Throughout all European leagues, only a few gamers submit this sort of defensive output with so few fouls. His mixture of sharp instincts, elite coordination, size, and mobility may make him probably the most 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 ideal 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 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 due to his skill to learn performs and discover the open man. Total, he’s a keen and good passer. As he ranks within the 59th percentile in assists per 40 minutes amongst wings, it exhibits 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 slicing, 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 slicing, passing, and studying the sport. Penda is one among them.

Offensively, he may 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 wish to assault mismatches, he may additionally deliver 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 employees recommend that he’s very critical and cautious about his taking pictures coaching. And the numbers again up this impression. His free throw proportion went from 55% in 2021 to 72% this season. Identical 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 powerful. 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 willpower 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 each side of the court docket.”

If he can attain league-average effectivity on taking pictures in his first seasons, Penda will be capable of keep on the court docket and change into probably the most impactful two-way position gamers. His skill to play all kinds of roles on each offense and protection suits completely within the trendy sport. 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 greatest when he’s on the court docket (66th percentile in plus/minus this season).

Noah Penda can have an immediate affect on the crew that drafts him. Defensively, he’ll be straightforward to plug into varied coverages. Offensively, he can move, reduce, 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 trying to retool for the long run? With many of the different Celtics already elite shooters, he may deliver one thing totally different. Penda may provide what Vacation gave the Celtics on the defensive finish and discover a position off the ball on offense.