By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
French forward Noa Essengue will undergo surgery on his left shoulder and miss the remainder of the 2025-26 season.
Billy Donovan, the head coach of the Chicago Bulls, updated the status of his player on Wednesday, before a meeting with the Brooklyn Nets in United Center.
“I think the recommendation was to get it fixed now instead of waiting, because it’s something that could continue to be a problem for him,” explained the 60-year-old play-caller in a pregame press conference.
Coming out of ratiopharm Ulm, Essengue was selected with the 12th overall pick of the 2025 NBA draft presented by State Farm. In the NBA with the Bulls, he was limited to two appearances and a total of six minutes, missing all three attempts for his first points. In four G League appearances with the Windy City Bulls, he put up 23.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.0 blocks per contest, averaging over 30 minutes per game.
Before taking his talents to North America, the Orleans native logged 25 appearances with Ulm in the BKT EuroCup, the second-tier league of Euroleague Basketball. In the 2024-25 installment, he averaged 12.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.4 steals, 1.1 assists, and 0.6 blocks per contest over 18 games, including ten starts.
His exciting progress was reinforced by junior success with France, including a bronze medal in the FIBA U16 European Championship 2022, followed by productive spells in the FIBA U18 European Championship 2023 and the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2024. In addition, he debuted with the senior national team in the EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers.