Noah Penda

Penda was born in Paris, France and played many different sports growing up before trying out basketball. He started playing youth basketball for BC Fontenay before joining clubs Villemomble and Levallois. In 2020-21, he played for Centre Fédéral de Basket-ball in the Nationale Masculine 1, the third tier of French basketball. In 2022, Penda signed a professional contract with JA Vichy-Clermont in the LNB Pro B, the second tier of French basketball. In his second season with the club, he was named Second-Team All-LNB Pro B by Eurobasket.com and the league's best young player. His impressive play at a young age allowed Penda to sign with Le Mans Sarthe Basket in the LNB Élite, France's top tier, in 2024. In the 2024-25 season, he averaged 10.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.4 steals in 26.6 minutes across 28 appearances. For his efforts, Penda was named an LNB All-Star and the Most Valuable Player of the league's Young Star Game. For the French national team, Penda played at the 2022 FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup, the 2023 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup, and the 2024 FIBA U20 EuroBasket tournament. In the 2024 FIBA U20 EuroBasket tournament, Penda averaged 11.7 points per game while helping his team win the championship, making a game-winning buzzer-beater to overcome Spain in the semifinals. At 6-foot-8, Penda has the size and length to play either forward spot. He is comfortable posting up and either creating his own shot or creating open looks for teammates who are either cutting or spotting up from three. Defensively, Penda is able to recover quickly and block shots at the rim as a quality help defender. Penda has shown the ability to score from all three levels, but will likely mostly operate as an off-ball cutter and spot-up shooter with some post-ups sprinkled in at the next level. His game has shades of Jaime Jaquez and Simone Fontecchio as strong forwards who can be connectors on offense, while also having the awareness to help teammates on the defensive end.