Nolan Traore Stock Trends Up with Recent Positive Flashes

Nolan Traore has seen his draft stock drop throughout the season. He entered the season as a potential top-five selection, but as the likes of Cooper Flagg, Ace Bailey, Dylan Harper, VJ Edgecombe, and others have rounded into form throughout the season and solidified their premier status, Traore has done the opposite.

Tasked with being the starting point guard and large creation responsibilities for Saint Quentin this season, Traore has withered with that weight on his shoulders. His three-point shot has been subpar since October, and he’s now shooting 26 percent from deep in domestic league play in France. The shooting struggles have trickled into other areas of his game. With less respect for his three-pointer, defenders have been able to more comfortably defend his dribble-drive and mid-range game, and he hasn’t been able to create separation regularly for most of the season.

But over the past couple of months, there have been some bright spots worth highlighting in his finishing. Traore is 2-for-13 from deep since a 5-for-8 outburst against Elan Chalon in mid-January. But in that same stretch, he has shot 36-of-54 on two-point field goal attempts. That’s exceptionally better than his 48 percent on two-point field goals throughout the course of the season.

While Traore is still shying away from contact on some finishes and is imperfect with his driving angles, he has improved at finishing through contact and has racked up a number of solid and one finishes over the past eight weeks. He’s also looking better with his floater and his reverse layups. The improvement on these three shots is notable, as he’ll need all three to be a reliable NBA point guard. The reverse layups are something he should definitely utilize more. He hasn’t been great at finishing over taller defenders this season, but on his reverse finishes, he can use the rim as a defender and get his shot off and convert far better than he does on his fading-away strong side drives that we often see go wrong.

Traore has continued to distribute the ball well among his teammates during these eight weeks, posting an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.6. This is slightly below his season average in domestic league play - 2.2 assist-to-turnover ratio - but that’s more a testament to his consistency in valuing the basketball throughout the season and being a reliable lead guard.

Traore has slipped out of the lottery in most notable mock drafts and projects to be a late first-round pick as things stand for the 2025 NBA Draft. If he has a strong shooting streak to end the season, though, even just a four-game stretch at 35 percent or better, he could grab scouts' and front offices' attention once more and make teams wonder if he’s fallen too far in the draft given what he’s shown that he’s capable of. If a shooting surge aligns with his consistency as a lead guard and improved finishing, he could climb back into the lottery potentially.

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