Profile

Name: Frank Ntilikina (nee-lee-KEE-nah)

Date of Birth: 07/28/1998

Origin: Rwanda / Belgium / France

Height: 6’5″

Weight: 190 lbs

Wingspan: 7’1″

Stats

Season League G MP FG% 3P% eFG% FT% TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS 2016-17 LNB Pro A 32 18 48.5 43.1 56.9 62.1 2.1 1.4 0.8 0.2 0.9 2.3 5.2 2016-17 (per 40) LNB Pro A 32 40 48.5 43.1 56.9 62.1 4.6 3.1 1.8 0.4 2.0 5.0 11.4

Backstory

Beginnings

The story of the Ntilikina family is one of determination and adaptability.

It all started in the country of Rwanda, with a woman named Jacqueline Mukarugema[1]. Before civil war struck the African country, Jacqueline gave birth to two sons, Yves (1986) and Brice (1988). In late 1990, a rebel group of Tutsi refugees invaded northern Rwanda and started a civil war that would culminate in one of the most devastating human genocides in history. Luckily Jacqueline and her two boys escaped the country a year before the Rwandan Genocide – a 100-day period beginning in April 1994, in which 500,000 to 1,000,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu were ruthlessly murdered.

Jacqueline, Yves and Brice fled to Brussels in 1993 to escape civil war, five years later Frank Ntilikina was born. A single mother of three, life was not easy for Jacqueline or her boys. Her sons credit Jacqueline’s work ethic for helping the family survive hardship, and inspire them later in life.

“It comes from my mom because we’ve always seen her work hard, really hard to take a lot of jobs,” Yves said. “That’s why me and my brother, we do everything to give back what she gave to us. And Frank, he’s going to do it now.”

Three years after Frank’s arrival, Jacqueline moved the family yet again – this time to Strasbourg, France. It was there that Yves and Brice transferred their love of basketball to their younger brother, putting a basketball in his hands at the age of 3.

“I fell in love with the sport when I played with my brothers,” Frank said.

While they shared their passion of the game with Frank, once they hit the court the only love he got was tough. As his older brothers recalled, everything he earned would have to be taken from them.

“I don’t want to be pretentious, but I think (we influenced him) a lot,” Brice said. “In the early ages, it was always a competition between us. He wanted to play 1-on-1. Actually he was crying a lot because he was losing. He was smaller than us, and it was a competition, a war between us. We didn’t let him win. Never. He needed to earn the victory, to earn the points. Even on defense, we blocked him, we defended him really hard – until he got bigger than us and better than us maybe four, five years ago.

“We showed him that dedication and hard work is really important in and out of the basketball court,” Yves said. “You have to be ready to put the hard work in… We were really hard (on him), because we wanted to teach him that if you want to win something, you have to earn it. We were really hard. We were never soft to him. Never.”

It was clear from Ntilikina’s early days that his family and environment instilled a strong work ethic and resiliency in him. But it would take more than just a strong mentality to reach highest level of basketball.

French Basketball

Ntilikina took his talents from la Citadelle courts to the professional ranks at 15 years old. Frank joined SIG Strasbourg in 2014, beginning his basketball ascent.

In 2014, Ntilikina was part of both the 2014-15 SIG Strasbourg Youth team as well as the U-16 French international team. Both teams would go on to win their respective championships – the French Youth League Championship title and 2014 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship.

After his success at the youth level, and some spot time for the professional club in April, Ntilikina signed a contract with the senior team in December 2015. At the senior level, playing amongst professional basketball players, Frank had to earn his playing time. It wasn’t until the most recent 2016-17 season that Ntilikina started to get significant minutes. According to head coach Vincent Collet[2], it was by design.

“It’s important that he works for it, that he struggles a little bit to get it,” Collet said, in January 2017. “It’s better if he is at the summit in May than in January. What I tell him every day is, he has to use all these moments to get better so that he arrives at his maximum when the draft is here.”

Nothing given, everything earned.

Around the club, Ntilikina had gained the reputation of being an immensely talented and hardworking individual. While most youngsters can be unruly and out of control, Frank was just the opposite. The sole complaints of him, that he’s perhaps too coachable and risk averse.

“He’ll tell me, ‘I have that inside,'” said Collet. “I tell him: ‘Don’t keep that inside. Show it.'”

Fellow Strasbourg teammate Romeo Travis, whom you may remember best as LeBron James’ teammate at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, agreed that Ntilikina needed to break out of his shell more, at times. Ultimately, though, Travis could not help but laud the young professional’s talent.

“Frank doesn’t have a ceiling,” Travis said. “He has everything: He has height, athleticism, ball-handling; he can shoot. So I’m just trying to give him that push, that confidence that he can be anything he wants to be.”

Perhaps the greatest display of Frank’s talents to date came against competition his own age. At the 2016 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championships, Ntilikina dominated. Averaging 15.2 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 4.5 APG, 2 SPG and 1 BPG on 50% from the field and 58.6% from beyond the arc, Ntilikina led France to a 6-0 record and was named the tournament’s most valuable player. It was the first example that he could lead.

“It was not just luck,” Ntilikina said. “My teammates gave me confidence, and my coach, too. I had to take care of my responsibility.”

NBA Draft

The moment his coach had prepared him for finally came to fruition on June 23. With the 8th selection in the 2017 NBA draft, the New York Knicks selected Frank Ntilikina. Despite recent success drafting international players, the Knicks faced criticism for passing on college freshman such as Dennis Smith Jr. and Malik Monk.

So what does Frank Ntilikina bring to the Knicks?

“Willing to defend, willing to play hard, and to give intensity,” Frank said of traits he will bring to the Knicks.

“The city never sleeps,” Brice said. “He’s the kind of guy that’s going to work out hard early in the morning, late in the evening, so the city fits him.”

Defense, intensity and hard work.

Perhaps nothing accentuated these characteristics more than Ntilikina’s workload the week of the NBA draft. After playing in Game 4 of the LNB Pro A championship on Monday, Frank flew to New York, for media availability on Wednesday, and to attend Thursday night’s draft. Immediately after, he took a 2 A.M. flight back to France to play in Game 5 of the championship. He scored 9 points to go along with 2 rebounds and 2 assists on 4/6 shooting, in a 64-75 loss to Chalon.

Game Breakdown

Defense

If there is one clear, and definable, trait to Frank Ntilikina’s game, it’s defense. Defense is Frank’s hallmark, it’s what propelled him to a starter on the senior team at SIG Strasbourg, and is his most transferrable skill into the NBA. Using his elite size (6’5″) and wingspan (7’1″), Ntilikina aims to disrupt the opposition ball handlers’ vision towards the basket and his teammates.

These tools, and his willingness to defend, make for a devastating combination in 1-on-1 situations. While there are times when he’s not locked in, more often than not, he’s ready to defend. When Frank does decide to zero in on his opponent, it’s akin to trying to make a pass with two brooms in the way.

Here is an example of Ntilikina’s isolation defense at the U-18 FIBA European Championship, in a late clock situation.

The offensive player is unable to get past Frank or create the space necessary to get a shot off over his length.

Ntilikina is willing to pick up his man full court, and was asked to do it often for coach Vincent Collet.

Besides containing his man, Ntilikina has also shown the ability to take the ball away both on and off the ball. Here he uses his length to poke away the ball when it’s exposed by the ball handler.

Ntilikina takes few unnecessary gambles, still he is able to read potential passes off the ball and get into the passing lane.

While Frank is a strong individual defender, it’s his team defense that make him special.

Ntilikina has gotten praise for his basketball IQ by a near consensus of the draft community. This is displayed especially on the defensive end, where he shows an acuity to help off the ball. In the first sequence, Frank sees his teammate get beat and immediately helps to deter an easy layup. The second shows an off-ball dig on the ball handler with the ball exposed to his side.

Expect Ntilikina to make his presence felt defensively both on and off the ball. Most of his defensive acumen will not show up on the box score, but are the type of plays that help his team win.

Offense

The offensive side of the ball is more of a work in progress for the young frenchman. Ntilikina’s basketball IQ certainly transfers to the offensive side of the ball. He is patient in pick-and-roll situations and almost always willing to make the simple pass to keep the ball moving. Below is an example of Ntilikina’s patience, as he lets the big man shake off the first unsuccessful screen attempt before setting a successful one on the other side. Frank is able to make the defense pay if they don’t come up to guard him in PnR situations.

Ntilikina’s shot is much improved, he connected on 43.1% of his long-range attempts for Strasbourg in LNB Pro A play and 58.6% in the FIBA U-18 European Championship this year. In catch-and-shoot situations, Ntilikina shows good balance and footwork with a decent release time on his jump shot.

In the FIBA U-18s, Ntilikina showed a propensity to hit shots in late clock situations, connecting on five of seven shots with the clock under four seconds.

Another impressive statistic from the U-18 Euros was Ntilikina’s ability to hit pull-up jumpers. Per DraftExpress, he was the most efficient pull-up shooter in the tournament scoring 1.727 points per possession.

Weaknesses

Several key weaknesses pop up in Ntilikina’s game when watching his tape. What stands out the most is a lack of ability to penetrate as a lead guard. He lacks an elite quick twitch to get by his defender at will and get into the paint – reliant on PnR action to get into the teeth of the defense. Another deficiency which exacerbates this issue is his loose ball handling.

There are times when he successfully uses a hesitation dribble or combination dribble to get himself open for a jumper. However, too often, in both isolation, and while driving to the basket, he loses control of his handle and is forced to give it up or turns the ball over. This is something he needs to work on if he truly wants to become a point guard in the NBA.

Here is Ntilikina on the perimeter simply trying to get out of trouble. He loses his dribble, then is forced further out on the perimeter, and eventually has to give up the ball.

On a drive to the basket, Ntilikina loses his handle on the way in and turns the ball over.

Another weakness is his ability to finish at the rim. Again his lack of elite explosion hurts him here as he’s unable to get completely past defenders. Ntilikina does shy away from contact at times, bulking up more should help him absorb contact and finish more often. He’ll have to learn to use more crafty finishes, utilizing his elite size to finish over and around defenders.

Outlook

In Ntilikina, the Knicks have drafted the ultimate team player. Unlike Kristaps Porzingis, however, expect Ntilikina’s development to actually take three or more years. While he should be able to come in right away and make an impact on the defensive end, Frank will not be ready to carry an offense in his first few years in the league. Even then, he may be more of a combo guard and secondary playmaker. The Knicks would be wise to bring in a veteran point guard who can take playmaking pressure off Ntilikina and ease him into the role.

I don’t have many doubts that Ntilikina, at the very least, will be an above-average defender. What concerns me the most is what his impact will be offensively. Can he truly run an offense against the best athletes in the world? Can he provide enough of his own offense to keep defenses honest, so that he can distribute? If he can improve his ball handling skills, it will open up his offensive game in terms of both scoring and distributing.

At the end of the day, Frank Ntilikina is a coach’s dream. Equipped with both elite size and basketball IQ, combined with the eagerness to learn, he will be an impact player in this league for years to come. He is truly an intriguing prospect who has many different career trajectories. I can see him being anything from a simple 3-and-D player, to an elite defensive player and/or all-around All-Star. Whether he reaches his lofty ceiling will depend heavily on his development and mental aptitude in the NBA. Will he carry over the aggression and leadership qualities he flashed at the U18 Euros, or was that simply an anomaly?

The youngest player in the draft, Ntilikina has the time and tools to develop into a multi-faceted All-Star in the NBA.

Sources: NY Daily News[1]; NYTimes[2]; NBEinstein – YouTube