Nolan Traore is finding his footing with the Brooklyn Nets. The 19-year-old rookie has impressed with his poise as the team's lead ball-handler after earning a starting role. He turned in another encouraging performance against fellow Frenchman Victor Wembanyama during Brooklyn's loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday.
Wembanyama, who first met Traore during the French national team's preparation for the 2024 Olympics, had high praise for his potential future teammate.
“[Nolan's] very young, and he was even younger in 2024 when we were preparing for the Olympics,” he said. “And already, what I noticed from him was the maturity and the way he could control the game. And the way that whoever the opponent is doesn’t matter. He’s got real guts, and I believe that’s a guy who will have incredible growth over his career.”
Victor Wembanyama had high praise for Nolan Traore, who he practiced with leading up to the 2024 Olympics:
“What I noticed from him was the maturity and the way he could control the game. And the way that whoever the opponent is doesn’t matter. He’s got real guts. I believe… pic.twitter.com/rAr5i8lfj4
— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) February 27, 2026
Many considered Traore a top-five prospect early in the 2025 pre-draft process. However, he fell to the Nets at No. 19 following an up-and-down 2024-25 season.
Nolan Traore impresses in starting point guard role with rebuilding Nets
Traore struggled during his first NBA appearances, and the Nets assigned him to the G League early in the season. Following a highly productive stretch with Long Island, the rookie point guard has emerged as a focal point of Brooklyn's offense during the second half of the season.
Traore has averaged 11.9 points, 2.1 rebounds and 5.3 assists on 44/30/76 shooting splits across 15 starts. The French floor general is the NBA's only rookie averaging over 11 points and five assists during that span. His 6.2 assists per 100 possessions this season rank third among all rookies who have played over 800 minutes, trailing only Walter Clayton Jr. (6.6) and Dylan Harper (6.2).
“Nolan's always believed that he belongs,” said Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez. “He always fights back, and he's getting to be the voice and the presence that we believe he is. He's not there yet because we also believe his ceiling is much higher. These last 23 games are huge for him, huge for the group going into the summer, which will be the biggest summer of our lives.”
