Frank Ntilikina

Frank Bryan Ntilikina (/nɪˈliːkɪnə/ ni-LEE-kin-ə; born 28 July 1998) is a Belgian-born French professional basketball player for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected by the Knicks as the eighth overall pick during the 2017 NBA draft. Ntilikina was born in Belgium and grew up in the French city of Strasbourg. He stands 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) tall and plays the point guard position.

Early life

Ntilikina was born in Ixelles, Belgium on 28 July 1998 to Rwandan parents, he moved to Strasbourg, France at age three. He began his youth club career at the age of five, playing for St-Joseph Strasbourg, before making the move to Strasbourg IG's youth academy when he was 15.

Ntilikina was invited to participate in the Jordan Brand Classic International Game in April 2014, tallying six points, three rebounds and one assist in 23 minutes off the bench, and helped SIG to a French Youth League Championship title in the 2014–15 season.

In February 2016, he attended the "Basketball Without Borders Global Camp" in Toronto, Canada, during the NBA All-Star Weekend.

Professional career

SIG Strasbourg (2015–2017)

In December 2015, Ntilikina signed a professional contract with SIG Strasbourg until 30 June 2019. He had made his debut at the professional level even before the deal, seeing 15 minutes of action on 4 April 2015, in a French LNB Pro A 2014–15 season contest against Boulogne-sur-Mer.

On 15 October 2015, Ntilikina logged his first EuroLeague minutes, scoring one point in 12 minutes and 16 seconds of play against KK Crvena Zvezda.

He saw the court in 32 contests during the 2015–16 Pro A season, scoring 1.3 points per game, and he was named the league's Best Young Player. In the 2016–17 season, Ntilikina became a key part of the Strasbourg team, as he appeared in 45 games for the team while averaging 19.3 minutes per game. His successful campaign led him to winning his second straight Pro A Best Young Player award.

2017 NBA draft

In April 2017, Ntilikina entered his name into the 2017 NBA draft. By 12 June NBA Draft entry deadline, he became one of only 10 international underclassmen to remain in the NBA Draft that year. Ntilikina also became one of 20 invites for the green room on draft night. The night before the Draft, Ntilikina played Game 4 in the LNB Pro A Finals with SIG Strasbourg before traveling to Brooklyn, New York to participate in the draft personally. After that night, he played his last game with SIG Strasbourg with them losing the LNB Pro A Finals to Élan Chalon.

During the build-up to the Draft, there was heavy speculation that the Dallas Mavericks were thinking of selecting Ntilikina with the 9th overall pick. Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was quoted as saying the Mavs wanted a 'pass-first point guard' and said 'We can maybe go a little bit more for a project', both of which Ntilikina fit the bill for. When the Knicks ended taking Ntilikina with the eighth pick, the Mavericks chose point guard Dennis Smith Jr.

Ntilikina was also rumoured to be coveted by the Knicks' front office and coaching staff, with whom he met in person.

New York Knicks (2017–present)

On 22 June 2017, Ntilikina was selected by the New York Knicks with the eighth pick in the 2017 NBA draft. On 5 July, Ntilikina signed with the Knicks. He was the second youngest active player in the NBA during his rookie year behind Ike Anigbogu. Ntilikina made his NBA debut on 19 October 2017, in a blowout loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. he scored his first points on 28 October against the Brooklyn Nets in a 107–86 blowout win. he recorded 9 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists and a steal during the Knicks' home opener. On 15 January 2018 Ntilikina recorded his first double double with 10 points, 10 assists, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks, and a steal in a win against the Brooklyn Nets (119–104). On 24 January 2018, he was selected to represent Team World for the Rising Stars Challenge during the 2018 NBA All-Star Weekend. His rookie season in New York was considered by many as underwhelming, and was often claimed to be a draft bust. He was limited to 43 games in his second season due to injuries. Heading into his third season, Ntilikina was coming off a strong performance in the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup. In the early part of the season, Ntilikina took over starting point guard duties and began to show great signs of defense. On 23 November 2019, Ntilikina racked up 6 steals in a 111–104 loss to San Antonio Spurs. However, like his previous two seasons, he struggled to shoot the ball and eventually was demoted in favor of Elfrid Payton.

National team career

Ntilikina averaged 7.4 points, 2.0 assists, 1.6 rebounds, and one steal per game, en route to winning the 2014 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship with the Under-16 French Junior National Team.

He was spectacular in helping France's Under-18 national team win the 2016 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship, scoring 31 points, including 7-for-10 from three-point range, in the championship game against the Under-18 Lithuanian team. He averaged 15.2 points, 4.5 assists, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.2 steals a game in the tournament, draining 50 percent of his field goal attempts, including 58.6 percent of his shots from long distance, en route to Most Valuable Player honors.

Ntilikina dished out a game-high eight assists, to go along with 13 points and four rebounds, at the FIBA European Under-18 All-Star Game, in September 2015.

Frank received tremendous praise in helping France win a bronze medal in the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

NBA career statistics

Regular season