A READY-MADE playmaker and bouncy scoring option, Frenchman Nolan Traore will intrigue a number of teams when making their selection at the 2025 NBA Draft in June.

There is plenty of upside in his game, starting with positional size, with Traore standing six-foot-four while playing point guard, which should give him an advantage over his opponent and open up his vision around the court. He is also the fastest player in the draft class, and bursts past his opponents to get to the cup with ease, which is by far his biggest strength.

Although he is prone to blazing away and making poor decisions when it comes to shot selection and his defence could do with some work, there is certainly enough upside in Traore to justify a selection inside the top 20 in the 2025 Draft.

Playing for Saint Quentin in the LNB Elite in France, Traore averaged 10.8 points, 1.7 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.7 blocks per game in a solid second campaign with the team.

With that in mind, Rookie Me Central will run through some of the clearest comparisons to already established NBA talents, with Traore looking quite unique as a prospect, although there are still some similarities.

Dejounte Murray – New Orleans Pelicans

Although injuries have restricted Murray from maintaining his standing as an All-Star, he possesses some of the same lightning quick tendencies that have forced Traore into lottery selection contention. Murray was selected by the San Antonio Spurs with the 29th pick of the 2016 NBA Draft and although it took him a while to find his feet in the NBA, he eventually became one of the best two-way backcourt contributors in the NBA. He was named to his first and only All-Star game in 2022, before being traded to the Atlanta Hawks to be paired with Trae Young, where he put up career-best numbers, averaging 22.5 points per game in his second season with the team. Now, he is on the Pelicans, although he missed much of the 2024/25 season due to injury. However, at his peak, he is an explosive athlete who can get the jump on the opposition with a quick first step, and is also a creative playmaker with ball in hand, much like the Frenchman looking to enter the NBA in the coming months.

Scoot Henderson – Portland Trail Blazers

Although Henderson’s NBA career is still in its infancy, there is no denying the talent the point guard, and he started to put it together in his second season. Drafted by the Trail Blazers with the third overall selection in the 2023 NBA Draft, there were high hopes for Henderson after he made a name for himself with the G League Ignite team in his draft year. It was a tough rookie campaign at times for Henderson, who struggled to find his feet and spent time with the Rip City Remix, but during his second season, the point guard showed glimpses of his capabilities. Although coming off the bench due to Portland being overloaded with backcourt players, he still managed to put up a career-high 39 points against the Brooklyn Nets in January, showing how high his ceiling is. When at his best, Henderson is an extremely fast player who likes to get out in the open court and finish downhill before the opposition can get set, which also describe Traore’s biggest strength.

Killian Hayes – Brooklyn Nets

Although he has not quite been able to live up to the hype throughout his career, Hayes is still on an NBA roster despite this and could still have a career resurgence in the future. He was drafted by the Detroit Pistons with the seventh overall selection in the 2020 NBA Draft, but only averaged double digits on one occasion, posting 10.5 points per game in the 2022/23 season. He most recently played for the Nets in the 2024/25 season, averaging nine points throughout the season in a promising return to NBA action. As a prospect coming into the league, he was an excellent playmaker who could find his teammates while also demonstrating an ability to create his own shots off the dribble, and Traore boasts similar traits, and will be looking to convert these to the top competition.