earning meaningful minutes<\/a> \u2014 or any minutes \u2014 in the NBA.<\/p>\nHere are five takeaways from Essengue\u2019s debut.<\/p>\n
1. Off the ball<\/p>\n
Essengue was a focal point for the Windy City offense \u2014 but that didn\u2019t mean putting the ball in his hands. The 6-foot-8 forward spent the entire game off the ball and shouldered minimal playmaking responsibilities.<\/p>\n
To his credit, Essengue made an effort to get the ball out of his hands quickly \u2014 either with a shot, a drive or a pass \u2014 every time he caught the ball on the perimeter. That\u2019s a clear adjustment from summer league, when he frequently lost momentum by taking too many dribbles.<\/p>\n
Essengue still is figuring out how to make an impact when he isn\u2019t touching the ball often. He allowed himself to get caught watching the play from the corner too often, waiting until a shot went up to crash the rim hunting for an offensive board.<\/p>\n
He won\u2019t see a higher volume of touches when he does begin to receive NBA minutes. He\u2019ll be in a similar off-ball role with defensive responsibilities and an expectation of efficiency in reactive situations. To succeed in those moments, he needs to improve his ability to cut and create productive motion off the ball so he doesn\u2019t contribute to stagnancy.<\/p>\n
2. Defensive instincts<\/p>\n
The most game-ready item on Essengue\u2019s toolbelt is his defensive disruptiveness. The Bulls have praised his instincts as a defender, particularly his ability to create deflections with his reach and timing.<\/p>\n
Essengue looked active and engaged on defense against the Herd, but he finished without a steal or a block. He spent an interesting stretch matched up with two-time NBA All-Star Victor Oladipo, who now plays for the Herd on a full-time G League contract.<\/p>\n
Making reads is only one aspect of defensive durability in the NBA. While Essengue showed some decent screen navigation, he also allowed himself to get burned on a handful of backdoor cuts due to his fixation on the ball.<\/p>\n
His length provides a decent rim deterrent, but he still is working to bring consistent vertical presence for a full game, with a noticeable drop-off in his activity in the second half.<\/p>\n
3. Building strength
\n![\"Bulls](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/CTC-BULLS-MEDIA-DAY-51.jpg\")
Bulls coach Billy Donovan speaks to forward Noa Essengue during media day at the United Center on Sept. 29, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n
Strength is the greatest liability in Essengue\u2019s current NBA readiness. At 18, he hasn\u2019t fully grown into his 7-foot-1 wingspan. Every time coach Billy Donovan is asked about Essengue\u2019s future with the Bulls, he immediately turns the conversation to the rookie\u2019s need to spend more time in the weight room and build core strength.<\/p>\n
Essengue didn\u2019t always look outmatched by his opponents Tuesday. But an NBA player \u2014 especially a jumbo wing like Essengue \u2014 should overpower G League defenders with his physicality. Essengue lacks the brawn to deliver that type of punishing presence around the rim. Notably, he didn\u2019t attempt a single dunk in his debut.<\/p>\n
Essengue likes to invite the bump when he has managed to tuck under a defender during a drive to the basket, but he struggles with similar contact when he\u2019s driving head on. Once he launches skyward, his core doesn\u2019t appear to offer the stability necessary to absorb contact and adjust to a midair collision, which means he can be deterred rather simply at the rim with verticality.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s clear Essengue has developed tactics to work around this physical disparity: pulling back to opt for a floater or shot-putting the ball quickly toward the rim after a rebound to avoid getting jostled. And he put up a sturdy performance on the boards \u2014 eight rebounds, three on offense \u2014 despite a susceptibility to being moved off his spot.<\/p>\n
4. Shooting with confidence<\/p>\n
Essengue scored Windy City\u2019s first points on a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer \u2014 a good sign for the Bulls, who want him ready to sling shots behind the arc as early into his career as possible.<\/p>\n
In the G League setting, Essengue looked comfortable with his shot both off the catch and off the dribble in transition. He missed all four of his 3-point attempts in the second half, finishing 2 of 6 from deep, but he showed the same smooth, comfortable release.<\/p>\n
5. What comes next?
\n![\"Bulls](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/CTC-L-BULLS1-1.jpg\")
Bulls forward Noa Essengue warms up before a game against the Pistons on Oct. 22, 2025, at the United Center. (Michael Reaves\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Essengue hasn\u2019t played a minute for the Bulls despite spending most of his time with them during the early weeks of the season. The rotation will only become more crowded in upcoming weeks as players begin to return from preseason injuries.<\/p>\n
The Bulls need to reintegrate guard Coby White<\/a>, who hopes to make his season debut next week after missing the first month with a calf injury. White\u2019s return will create a further logjam in minutes \u2014 but it won\u2019t solve the team\u2019s size problem, which has been heightened by the absence of injured backup center Zach Collins.<\/p>\nFor Essengue, the key to cracking the rotation is edging out fellow wings Julian Phillips and Dalen Terry, who combine for 11.4 minutes per game. Once he proves he can match either player for their minutes, he\u2019ll have a sustainable path toward regular NBA playing time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The wait is over for the first minutes of Noa Essengue\u2019s rookie season. The No. 12 pick in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":406460,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3771],"tags":[7,3363,920,919,329,3824,15697,5597,7505,6,12,2282,8942,25724,26457],"class_list":{"0":"post-406459","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago-bulls","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-billy-donovan","10":"tag-bulls","11":"tag-chicago","12":"tag-chicago-bulls","13":"tag-chicagobulls","14":"tag-dalen-terry","15":"tag-g-league","16":"tag-julian-phillips","17":"tag-nba","18":"tag-nba-draft","19":"tag-noa-essengue","20":"tag-victor-oladipo","21":"tag-windy-city-bulls","22":"tag-wisconsin-herd"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115538882221306651","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406459","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=406459"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406459\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/406460"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=406459"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=406459"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=406459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}