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Frank Ntilikina

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Frank Ntilikina
Ntilikina in September 2016
No. 11 – New York Knicks
PositionPoint guard
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1998-07-28) July 28, 1998 (age 26)
Ixelles, Belgium
NationalityFrench
Listed height6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight190 lb (86 kg)
Career information
NBA draft2017: 1st round, 8th overall pick
Selected by the New York Knicks
Playing career2015–present
Career history
2015–2017SIG Strasbourg
2017–presentNew York Knicks
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  France
FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship
Gold medal – first place 2014 Latvia
FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship
Gold medal – first place 2016 Turkey

Frank Ntilikina /nɪˈliːkɪnə/ ni-LEE-kin-ə;[1] born 28 July 1998) is a French professional basketball player for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA).[2] He debuted in the NBA in 2017. Ntilikina grew up in the city of Strasbourg. Ntilikina stands 6 ft 5 in (196 cm) tall and plays the point guard position.[3]

Early life and youth career

Ntilikina was born in Ixelles, Belgium on July 28, 1998 to Rwandan parents.[4] At age three, he moved to Strasbourg, France.[5] 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.[6]

Ntilikina was invited to participate in the Jordan Brand Classic International Game in April 2014,[7] 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.[8]

In February 2016, he attended the "Basketball Without Borders Global Camp" in Toronto, Canada, during the NBA All-Star Weekend.[9]

Professional career

SIG Strasbourg (2015–2017)

In December 2015, Ntilikina signed a professional contract with SIG Strasbourg until June 30, 2019.[10] He had made his debut at the professional level even before the deal, seeing 15 minutes of action on April 4, 2015, in a French LNB Pro A 2014–15 season contest against Boulogne-sur-Mer.[11]

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

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".[13]

In April 2017, Ntilikina entered his name into the 2017 NBA draft. By the end of the June 12 NBA draft deadline, Ntilikina became one of only 10 international underclassmen to remain in the NBA Draft that year. Before that, though, he became one of 20 invites for the green room on draft night. Before the night of the draft, Ntilikina played Game 4 in the LNB Pro A Finals with SIG Strasbourg before travelling 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.[14]

New York Knicks (2017–present)

On June 22, 2017, Ntilikina was selected by the New York Knicks with the 8th pick in the 2017 NBA draft.[15] On July 5, 2017, Ntilikina signed with the Knicks.[16] Ntilikina made his NBA debut on October 19, 2017, in a blowout loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Ntilikina scored his first points on October 28 against the Brooklyn Nets in a 107–86 blowout win. Ntilikina ended the Knicks home opener with nine points, two rebounds, five assists, and one steal. He drew praise from fellow Knick Kristaps Porziņģis. He is one of the youngest players in the NBA at age 19. [17]

National team career

Ntilikina averaged 7.4 points, 2.0 assists, 1.6 boards, and one steal per game, en route to winning the 2014 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship with the Under-16 French Junior National Team.[18]

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.[19] 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,[20] en route to Most Valuable Player honors.[21]

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.[22]

References

  1. ^ "Frank Ntilikina pronounces his last name for America". YouTube. Retrieved 2017-06-22.
  2. ^ "FRANK NTILINIKA INTERVIEW". Giving Back Globall Academy. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  3. ^ "Frank Ntilikina profile SIG". SIGSTRASBOURG. Retrieved 2016-08-22.
  4. ^ Givony, Jonathan (August 4, 2015). "FIBA Europe U18 Championship Scouting Reports: Point Guards". DraftExpress.com. Retrieved June 13, 2017. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |website= (help)
  5. ^ Keh, Andrew (January 4, 2017). "Frank Ntilikina, a Top N.B.A. Prospect, Is Learning to Play With Fire". The New York Times. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
  6. ^ "F. Ntilikina: Deuxième parrain de Have A Basket !". Have a Basket. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  7. ^ "JBC International Game Official Basketball Box Score" (PDF). Jordan Brand Classic. 2014-04-18. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  8. ^ "Frank Ntilikina". SIGSTRASBOURG. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  9. ^ "DraftExpress: Basketball Without Borders Global Camp Evaluations: Guards and Wings". www.draftexpress.com. Retrieved 2016-02-28.
  10. ^ "Frank Ntilikina signe un contrat de trois ans". SIGSTRASBOURG. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  11. ^ "Strasbourg / Boulogne-sur-Mer - 27ème journée - 2014/15 – Résultat match - Pro A – LNB.fr". www.lnb.fr. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  12. ^ "Crvena Zvezda Telekom Belgrade vs. Strasbourg - Game". www.euroleague.net. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  13. ^ "Pro A : Frank Ntilikina élu meilleur jeune du championnat - Basket-BallWorld". Basket-BallWorld (in French). 2016-04-30. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
  14. ^ https://www.sbnation.com/2017/6/22/15856890/frank-ntilikina-nba-draft-travel-knicks-workout
  15. ^ Ballow, Jonah (June 22, 2017). "Knicks Select Frank Ntilikina with the No. 8 Overall Pick in 2017". NBA.com. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  16. ^ "Knicks Sign Frank Ntilikina". NBA.com. July 5, 2017. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  17. ^ "Porzingis, Ntilikina propel Knicks past Nets for 1st win of season". New York Post. 2017-10-28. Retrieved 2017-10-28.
  18. ^ "Perfect France Beat Hosts, Lift Title | U16 European Championship Men (2014)| FIBA Europe". www.fibaeurope.com. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  19. ^ "FIBA Live Statistics". www.fiba.com. Retrieved 2016-12-22.
  20. ^ "France at the FIBA U18 European Championship Division A 2016 - FIBA.com". FIBA.com. Retrieved 2016-12-22.
  21. ^ "France take home the title after thriller with Lithuania". FIBA.com. Retrieved 2016-12-22.
  22. ^ "Red - Black | U18 All-Star Game (2015) | FIBA Europe". www.fibaeurope.com. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
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