| Intro | French basketball player | ||||
| Is |
Athlete Basketball player |
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| From | France | ||||
| Type | Sports | ||||
| Gender | male | ||||
| Birth | 1998, Ixelles, Arrondissement of Brussels-Capital, Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium | ||||
| Age: | 22 years | ||||
| Stats |
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Frank Bryan Ntilikina (born 28 July 1998) is a French professional basketball player and a point guard for SIG Strasbourg of the LNB Pro A. He grew up in the city of Strasbourg. Ntilikina stands 6 ft 5 in (196 cm) tall and is a point guard.
Early life
Ntilikina was born in Ixelles, Belgium on July 28, 1998 to Rwandan parents. At age three, he moved to Strasbourg, France. He began his 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.
Professional career
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 December 2015, Ntilikina signed a professional contract with SIG Strasbourg until June 30, 2019. 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.
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.
On October 15, 2015, Ntilikina logged his first EuroLeague minutes, scoring one point in 12:16 minutes of play against KK Crvena Zvezda.
In February 2016, he attended the “Basketball Without Borders Global Camp” in Toronto, Canada, during the NBA All-Star Weekend. 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 April 2017, Ntilikina entered his name into the 2017 NBA draft. By the end of the June 12 NBA draft deadline, Ntilikina became only one of 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.
On June 22, 2017, Ntilikina was selected by the New York Knicks with the 8th Pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.[1]
International 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.
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.