Frank Ntilikina

Frank Bryan Ntilikina (French: [fʁɑ̃ŋk nilikina];^[2] born 28 July 1998) is a French professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA).^[3] He was selected by the New York 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 at 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) tall and plays the point guard position.^[4]

Frank Ntilikina

Ntilikina with the Dallas Mavericks in 2021
No. 21 – Dallas Mavericks
Position	Point guard
League	NBA
Personal information
Born	(1998-07-28) 28 July 1998 (age 24) Ixelles, Belgium
Nationality	French
Listed height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)^[1]
Listed weight	200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
NBA draft	2017 / Round: 1 / Pick: 8th overall
Selected by the New York Knicks
Playing career	2015–present
Career history
2015–2017	SIG Strasbourg
2017–2021	New York Knicks
2021–present	Dallas Mavericks
Career highlights and awards
2× Pro A Best Young Player (2016, 2017) FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship MVP (2016)
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals Men's basketball Representing  France Summer Olympics 2020 Tokyo Team FIBA World Cup 2019 China Europe U-18 Championship 2016 Turkey U-18 team Europe U-16 Championship 2014 Latvia U-16 team

Early life

Ntilikina was born in Ixelles, Belgium, on 28 July 1998, to Rwandan parents,^[5] he moved to Strasbourg, France at age three.^[6] 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.^[7]

Ntilikina was invited to participate in the Jordan Brand Classic International Game in April 2014,^[8] 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.^[9]

In February 2016, he attended the "Basketball Without Borders Global Camp" in Toronto, Canada, during the 2016 NBA All-Star Weekend.^[10]

Professional career

SIG Strasbourg (2015–2017)

In December 2015, Ntilikina signed a professional contract with SIG Strasbourg until 30 June 2019.^[11] 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.^[12]

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.^[13]

He saw the court in 32 contests during the 2015–16 Pro A season, scoring 1.2 points per game, and he was named the league's Best Young Player.^[14] 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 NBA draft's entry deadline on 12 June, he became one of only 10 international underclassmen to remain in the NBA draft that year. Ntilikina also became one of 20 invitees 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.^[15]

During the build-up to the draft, there was heavy speculation that the Dallas Mavericks would select Ntilikina with the ninth overall pick. Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was quoted as saying that the Mavericks wanted a "pass-first point guard" and said "We can maybe go a little bit more for a project",^[16] 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.^[17][18]

New York Knicks (2017–2021)

On 22 June 2017, Ntilikina was selected by the New York Knicks with the eighth pick in the 2017 NBA draft.^[19] On 5 July, Ntilikina signed with the Knicks.^[20] He was the second-youngest active player in the NBA during his rookie year behind Ike Anigbogu.^[21] Ntilikina made his NBA debut on 19 October 2017, in a 105–84 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.^[22] He scored his first points on 28 October against the Brooklyn Nets in a 107–86 win. He recorded nine points, two rebounds, five assists and a steal during the Knicks' home opener.^[23] On 15 January 2018, Ntilikina recorded his first double-double with 10 points, 10 assists, seven rebounds, two blocks and a steal in a 119–104 win over the Brooklyn Nets.^[24] On 24 January 2018, he was selected to represent Team World for the Rising Stars Challenge during the 2018 NBA All-Star Weekend.^[25] His rookie season in New York was considered by many as underwhelming, and was often claimed to be a draft bust.^[26]

Ntilkina 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 six steals in a 111–104 loss to San Antonio Spurs.^[27] However, like his previous two seasons, he struggled to shoot the ball and eventually was demoted in favor of Elfrid Payton.^[28]

Dallas Mavericks (2021–present)

On 16 September 2021, Ntilikina signed with the Dallas Mavericks.^[29] He made his debut on 21 October 2021, in a 87–113 loss to the Atlanta Hawks, playing four minutes.^[30]

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.^[31]

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.^[32] 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,^[33] en route to Most Valuable Player honors.^[34]

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.^[35]

Ntilikina helped France win a bronze medal in the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

NBA career statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2017–18	New York	78	9	21.9	.364	.318	.721	2.3	3.2	.8	.2	5.9
2018–19	New York	43	16	21.0	.337	.287	.767	2.0	2.8	.7	.3	5.7
2019–20	New York	57	26	20.8	.393	.321	.864	2.1	3.0	.9	.3	6.3
2020–21	New York	33	4	9.8	.367	.479	.444	.9	.6	.5	.1	2.7
2021–22	Dallas	58	5	11.8	.399	.342	.960	1.4	1.2	.5	.1	4.1
2022–23	Dallas	47	5	12.9	.364	.254	.667	1.3	1.2	.3	.1	2.9
Career		316	65	17.1	.371	.323	.760	1.8	2.2	.7	.2	4.8

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2021	New York	3	0	1.3	.000	.000	—	.0	.0	.0	.0	.0
2022	Dallas	12	0	10.3	.333	.300	1.000	1.0	.8	.7	.1	1.9
Career		15	0	8.5	.320	.286	1.000	.8	.6	.5	.1	1.5

References

1. "Frank Ntilikina". National Basketball Association. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
2. L'interview HYPE de Frank Ntilikina (in French). HYPE. 16 December 2019. Event occurs at 0:00. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
3. "Frank Ntilikina". Basketball Reference. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
4. "Frank Ntilikina profile SIG". sigstrasbourg.fr. 3 April 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
5. Givony, Jonathan (4 August 2015). "FIBA Europe U18 Championship Scouting Reports: Point Guards". DraftExpress.com. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
6. Keh, Andrew (4 January 2017). "Frank Ntilikina, a Top N.B.A. Prospect, Is Learning to Play With Fire". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
7. . Have a Basket. Archived from the original on 6 February 2016. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
8. (PDF). Jordan Brand Classic. 18 April 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 February 2016. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
9. "Frank Ntilikina". sigstrasbourg.fr. 3 April 2015. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
10. "DraftExpress: Basketball Without Borders Global Camp Evaluations: Guards and Wings". draftexpress.com. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
11. . sigstrasbourg.fr. Archived from the original on 6 February 2016. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
12. "Strasbourg / Boulogne-sur-Mer – 27ème journée – 2014/15 – Résultat match – Pro A – LNB.fr". lnb.fr. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
13. "Crvena Zvezda Telekom Belgrade vs. Strasbourg – Game". euroleague.net. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
14. . Basket-BallWorld (in French). 30 April 2016. Archived from the original on 18 July 2019. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
15. "Frank Ntilikina's schedule will make you tired just reading it". 22 June 2017.
16. . Archived from the original on 18 July 2019. Retrieved 22 December 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
17. https://www.sny.tv/knicks/news/pg-frank-ntilikina-high-on-knicks-draft-board/237847802^{[bare URL]}
18. @IanBegley (21 June 2017). "Frank Ntilikina says he met with the..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
19. Ballow, Jonah (22 June 2017). "Knicks Select Frank Ntilikina with the No. 8 Overall Pick in 2017". National Basketball Association. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
20. "Knicks Sign Frank Ntilikina". National Basketball Association. 5 July 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
21. "Knicks' Frank Ntilikina includes Lonzo Ball among 'very talented point guards'". USA Today. 11 December 2017.
22. "Knicks vs. Thunder – Box Score". ESPN. 19 October 2017. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
23. "Porzingis, Ntilikina propel Knicks past Nets for 1st win of season". New York Post. 28 October 2017. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
24. "Ntilikina's breakout game shows Knicks what's been missing". New York Post. 16 January 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
25. "Ntilikina selected for Rising Stars Challenge". Newsday.
26. Vaccaro, Mike (1 November 2018). "Frank Ntilikina beginning to silence any bust talk". New York Post. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
27. Vertsberger, David (24 November 2019). "Frank Ntilikina displays switchability vs Spurs". Maven. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
28. Berman, Marc (24 December 2019). "Frank Ntilikina's demotion makes his Knicks future more confusing". New York Post. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
29. Sefko, Eddie (16 September 2021). "Mavericks add guard Ntilikina to fill up roster". Mavs.com. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
30. "Young, Hawks open season with 113–87 rout of Mavericks". ESPN. 21 October 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
31. "Perfect France Beat Hosts, Lift Title". fibaeurope.com. 30 August 2014. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
32. . fiba.com. Archived from the original on 11 August 2017. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
33. "France at the FIBA U18 European Championship Division A 2016". FIBA.com. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
34. "France take home the title after thriller with Lithuania". FIBA.com. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
35. "Red – Black". fibaeurope.com. Retrieved 5 February 2016.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Frank Ntilikina.

• Career statistics and player information from NBA.com   and Basketball-Reference.com  
• Frank Ntilikina at euroleague.net
• Frank Ntilikina at Eurobasket.com
• Frank Ntilikina at FIBA  
• Frank Ntilikina at lnb.fr (in French)