NBA Draft Scouting Report: France's Noah Penda

Scouting Report: Noah Penda

Noah Penda / fiba.basketball

1. Player Info
2. Prospect Profile
3. Highlights
4. Draft Projection
5. 2025 Big Board

Player Info

Noah Penda

Forward | France

Height: 6'8” | Weight: 225 lbs 

2025 Draft Age: 20.47

Noah Penda / fiba.basketball

Prospect Profile

A French wing/forward who is well-built with a good frame and plenty of length, Penda has continued to improve as a prospect over the past few years. He isn’t an elite athlete and is still rounding out his game, but he’s firmly on the radar of NBA teams. 

Penda can score well in the paint as an interior threat, but is actually more of a below-the-rim player compared to many prospects of his size. He can play on or off the ball, but will need to flash the off-ball abilities especially given what his role will be early in his NBA career. Even then, it’s easy to see him being a moldable player in any rotation given the various ways he can impact the game. Penda is a good cutter and has a reliable handle to create some for himself. He’s very comfortable taking his defender off the dribble and getting to his spots. He’ll need to improve his perimeter jumper to thrive in the modern NBA, but he has gotten better of late. There is also underrated passing upside and rebounding production that Penda also brings to the table. 

The defensive side of the ball is interesting with Penda, as he has the frame to get physical in the paint but also the footspeed and length to hold his own in space. He positions himself well and appears to understand the game on that end while almost always giving good effort. If Penda can really prove to teams that he can be a versatile defender at that level, he will have plenty of suitors. 

Penda will turn 21 years old early in the 2025-26 season, so he’s not as young as some of the other international prospects being evaluated ahead of the 2025 NBA Draft. Even then, the French combo forward has plenty of appeal and traits NBA teams should covet. 

Highlights

Draft Projection

Potential Second-Round Pick in 2025 NBA Draft.

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2025 Big Board

Want to know more about other potential 2025 NBA Draft prospects and where they might get selected? Check out our Draft Digest Big Board.

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