For most of Essengue\u2019s life, it has been just the three of them. Ingrid, a math teacher raising two boys. Mathis, the older son by 5 years, trying his best to be the man of the house. And Noa, always dreaming of something a little bigger.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey do everything for me,\u201d Essengue told the Tribune. \u201cIf I\u2019m in a good mood, bad mood, if I need food, money, anything, they always give everything for me. Sometimes they don\u2019t have food for them, but they give me food. So I just want to give everything I\u2019ve got for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
The tattoos on Essengue\u2019s left arm reflect another truth about the rookie: He wants to be the one to tell his story.<\/p>\n
Before he ever fell in love with basketball, drawing offered a similar escape. He grew up doodling with Mathis and tracing his favorite manga characters from \u201cNaruto\u201d and \u201cHaikyu!!\u201d Over time, those sketches became more serious, taking the form of tattoo designs.<\/p>\n
Essengue knew he didn\u2019t want someone else\u2019s art on his body, so he drew up full-sleeve designs \u2014 a trio of crosses, Japanese lettering, a rose spanning the back of a hand. His first major design now spans from the base of his wrist to the inner crook of his elbow. It\u2019s an elaboration of a real picture: Essengue as a boy, the No. 12 on his back, standing at the bottom of a staircase leading into a skyline vista.<\/p>\n
In the tattoo, the steps at the base are cracked, a representation of his childhood challenges. The view at the top is bright, sunny. Happy.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s me,\u201d Essengue said, tracing a finger across the image of himself gazing up toward something hopeful. \u201cYou know, not from anything, but someday will be brought to the sky. Getting better every day.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Bulls](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CTC-L-BULLS1-2.jpg\")
Bulls forward Noa Essengue practices at the Advocate Center on Monday, July 7, 2025, in preparation for the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. (Eileen T. Meslar\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n
Over the last six years, it became clear basketball would become the mechanism for Essengue to ascend that staircase. His path to the NBA moved quicker than those of many other top prospects in this year\u2019s draft.<\/p>\n
It took Essengue a little longer than other boys to find his way to basketball. He didn\u2019t start playing seriously until he was 11. Before that, he mostly chased after Mathis\u2019 favored hobbies, playing volleyball in the summers, swapping sketches after school.<\/p>\n
Essengue tried tennis and judo, but both sports left athletes on an island. He craved the keen drive of competition, but he also wanted to play on a team. Basketball brought that in droves. A responsibility to his teammates. A sense of belonging.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t want to be all by yourself,\u201d Essengue said. \u201cIt was always more fun to play basketball with all my friends, with other people. That\u2019s really something that would take me to another level.\u201d<\/p>\n
Basketball became natural. Essengue grew quickly, nearing 6-foot-9 in bare feet by the time he was 16. His sprawling hands corralled loose balls and wayward shots with ease. He rarely was the brawniest kid on the court, but he wasn\u2019t afraid to put a shoulder into a defender.<\/p>\n
And if he got a chance to make a break for it down an open court \u2014 well, at that point, he was already long gone.<\/p>\n
\n4 questions for Chicago Bulls to answer in summer league, including where Noa Essengue will play<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Essengue was scouted by Orl\u00e9ans Loiret Basket Association, where he played his first three years of youth basketball<\/a>. By 14, he had signed to play with INSEP, a developmental academy in Paris. Two years later, he moved to southern Germany to join Ratiopharm Ulm, a 16-year-old who spoke only rudimentary English \u2014 and no German.<\/p>\n
Ulm was a challenge. It also proved to Essengue that he was talented enough to compete at a higher level. He moved from the developmental third-tier squad to the senior team, then began earning starts. In October 2024, he received his first call-up from the French national team, validating an increased role \u2014 and impact \u2014 for Ulm.<\/p>\n
During those years in Germany, Essengue began to craft an image of himself as an NBA player. He took inspiration from Scottie Barnes and Pascal Siakam, lengthy wings who can put the ball on the floor and muck things up on defense. But for Essengue, one player stood out from the rest: Paul George.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s not alone in this preference. Second-year Bulls forward Matas Buzelis<\/a> is also an acolyte of George, the 15-year NBA veteran who is a favored player among recent draftees in their late teens and early 20s.<\/p>\n
Part of the appeal for Essengue is George\u2019s stature as a two-way player \u2014 \u201cplaying the right way,\u201d as he described. He also hopes to emulate the smooth style that has defined George throughout his career.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s also got that fancy side,\u201d Essengue said. \u201cPlaying like that, it makes you feel cool.\u201d<\/p>\n
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![\"Bulls](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CTC-L-BULLS1-1.jpg\")
Bulls forward Noa Essengue listens to player development coordinator Austin Dufault during practice at the Advocate Center on Monday, July 7, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n