Nolan Traoré Is Earning a Bigger Role With the Nets

As of November 3, 2026, Nolan Traoré is emerging as a valuable rotation player for the Brooklyn Nets, while several of the team’s other recent first-round picks are unavailable or outside the rotation.
The Brooklyn Nets selected five players in the first round a year ago, an NBA record. Their early returns have been uneven: one of those players is currently injured, while three others are not in the rotation.
Nolan Traoré has taken a different path. The youngest player on the NBA’s youngest roster, he is becoming a player the Nets can rely on in their rotation.
Traoré’s speed is a defining part of his game. He is among the fastest players in the league, and his progress is making him stand out from a draft class that has yet to put all five first-rounders into regular roles.
His emergence gives Brooklyn a developing contributor amid a group of young players with very different circumstances. One remains sidelined by injury, and three have not secured places in the rotation. Traoré, meanwhile, is growing into a dependable option for the team.