February was the month Nolan Traoré stopped feeling like a project and started looking like a lead guard.
The Nets’ French rookie was one of four Eastern Conference players nominated for Rookie of the Month, a nod that fits the way his season has turned. Brooklyn has had Egor Dëmin nominated in prior months, but Traoré’s case is built on steady creation, control and an expanding responsibility.
Over his last 10 games, Traoré is averaging 13.4 points and 6.1 assists. For a player who looked unplayable early in the season, that jump is massive. Now he’s stringing together clutch moments, including a turnaround jumper against the San Antonio Spurs last week, and doing it in a way that looks repeatable.
February provided the clearest numbers behind his rookie leap. The 19-year-old averaged 12.2 points, 5.6 assists and 2.3 rebounds, all upgrades from his January line of 7.8 points, 3.7 assists and 1.5 rebounds. He finished first among all NBA rookies in assists per game for the month, and it wasn’t close.
Traoré totaled 67 assists in February, which was 30 more than any other rookie in the Eastern Conference. Kam Jones was next at 37. Leaguewide, Traoré ranked 13th in the NBA in total assists for the month, wedged into a list filled with veteran lead guards.
And he wasn’t just creating. He was disrupting. Traoré finished February with 15 steals, leading Eastern Conference rookies and ranking third among all rookies. That’s 1.3 per game, a reflection of both activity and improved anticipation.
Traoré accounted for 21.4% of Brooklyn’s team assists in February, the second-highest share by any rookie in any single month this season, trailing only Ryan Nembhard’s 24.7% in December.
In other words, when the Nets generated offense that resembled organization, Traoré was at the center of it. He recorded 13 points and 13 assists on Feb. 9 against the Chicago Bulls, tied at the time for the most assists by a rookie in a game this season and tied for the fourth-most assists by a rookie in franchise history. He followed with 21 points and seven assists on Feb. 5 at Orlando, then 20 points and eight assists on Feb. 11 against Indiana. In February, he posted five or more assists seven times and scored 11 or more points seven times.
As of Sunday, Traoré has totaled at least 150 points and 60 assists over an 11-game span, making him the third rookie in franchise history to do that, joining Terrence Williams in 2010 and Darwin Cook in 1981. He’s also recorded multiple assists in 20 straight games, tied for the third-longest streak by a rookie in franchise history. That run passed Dëmin’s earlier 18-game streak and sits behind only Mookie Blaylock’s 21 and Cook’s 36.
Even his shorter streaks point to consistency. Traoré handed out four or more assists in seven straight games from Feb. 3-19, tied for the fourth-longest such run by a rookie in franchise history and the longest since Kerry Kittles in 1996.
Victor Wembanyama saw this type of growth coming. The two practiced together leading into the 2024 Olympics, and Wembanyama’s evaluation still tracks.
“What I noticed from him was the maturity and the way he could control the game,” Wembanyama said. “And the way that whoever the opponent is doesn’t matter. He’s got real guts. I believe that’s a guy who will have incredible growth over his career.”
Traoré, for his part, says the game is starting to meet him halfway.
“A bit slower with experience,” he said. “You get used to the speed. It’s getting better and I hope it continues.”
