2025 NBA Draft: Tracking French Prospect Nolan Traore's Finishing

How well does Nolan Traore finish at the rim with his left hand?

Nolan Traore /

Nolan Traore is among the most discussed prospects for the upcoming 2025 NBA draft cycle, and by the majority, considered one of the prospects who has a chance to be the No. 2 overall pick behind Cooper Flagg. After playing for France in the FIBA U18 Eurobasket this summer, Traore will continue his tenure with Saint-Quentin in the LNB Pro A league during the 2024-25 season.

The allure with Traore lies in his advantage creation. He has a lightning-quick first step that allows him to generate paint touches with ease which opens up scoring and passing windows. However, there have been concerns voiced about the use of his left hand when finishing, or lack thereof, which would be concerning for a below-the-rim finisher with non-elite shotmaking. But are those concerns valid?

After tracking 78 rim finishes through the 2023-24 LNB Pro A season and 2024 FIBA U18 Eurobasket, the answer is... maybe, the concerns are valid?

During his LNB season, the answer is yes — his left-hand finishing was unequivocally a concern. Out of 38 rim attempts, only five were left-handed attempts, rounding out to a 13% frequency. Of those five attempts, he made just two, a 40% mark. This unwillingness to finish with his left combined with being a below-the-rim finisher (just one dunk in nine games) was definitely enough to be cause for concern for Traore.

However, during the FIBA U18 Eurobasket, he was slightly better at going to his left. Out of 40 rim attempts, 8 were left-handed, a 20% frequency, and he finished 6-for-8 on those attempts at a 75% mark. Obviously, it's a very small sample size and against much weaker and much less athletic competition (as evidenced by his two dunks in only seven games) so it's tough to decisively say he's now good at finishing with his left. After all, between the two samples, he's still only attempted finishing at the rim with his left under 17% of the time.

The only conclusion that can be taken away here is that Traore has to be better at finishing with his left hand in his second pro season, and how he fares in that department will be crucial to determining his draft stock. If he's able to get to and finish with his left more often, that mitigates some of the concerns that come with his lack of vertical explosion. If he isn't, then it amplifies his concerning lack of verticality as a finisher and lowers his floor as a creator.

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