David Duke Jnr
December 16, 2025
Noa Kouakou-Heugue
- Nationality: FRA
- Date of Birth: 28/04/07
- Place of Birth: Lille (France)
- Position: PF
- Height (CM): 204
- Weight (KG): 93
- Junior Assoc: FRA - ASVEL Villeurbanne
- College:
- NBL DEBUT: 10/10/25
- AGE AT DEBUT: 18
- LAST NBL GAME: 7/03/26
- AGE AT LAST GAME: 18
- NBL History: Perth 2026
- Championships: 0
- None
BIO: Noa Kouakou-Heugue was born in Lille (France).
NBL EXPERIENCE
Noa Kouakou-Heugue made his NBL debut with the Perth Wildcats at 18 years of age. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.
Perth added 18-year-old French forward-centre Noa Kouakou-Heugue through the NBL Next Stars program after he averaged 9.7 points and 4.8 rebounds for Pôle France and earned MVP honours at the Adidas Next Generation Tournament in Belgrade. He joined a Wildcats team coming off a 113-112 loss to Melbourne in the deciding semifinal, which left Perth one point short of the Championship Series, while five-time league MVP Bryce Cotton (to Adelaide), Keanu Pinder (to Akita), Hyrum Harris (to Kanazawa), Michael Harris (to Adelaide) and Izan Almansa (to Madrid) departed during the off-season.
John Rillie returned for his fourth season as head coach, retaining Kristian Doolittle, Dylan Windler, Ben Henshall, Elijah Pepper, captain Jesse Wagstaff, David Okwera, Dontae Russo-Nance and Thomas Gerovich. Jo Lual-Acuil Jr (via Alexandria), Sunday Dech (via Adelaide), Lat Mayen (via Adelaide), Mason Jones (via Stockton), Kouakou-Heugue (via France), Jaron Rillie (via Northern Colorado) and development player Cameron Huefner (via Sam Houston State) were added to the roster.
Perth opened the season at RAC Arena on September 20, where Kouakou-Heugue remained on the bench as Jones (16 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists) and Lual-Acuil Jr (15 points, 14 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block) led the Wildcats, while Bryce Hamilton (26 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals) carried Tasmania to a 75-72 win.
Kouakou-Heugue made his regular-season debut in Cairns on October 10, collecting one rebound in 1:41 as Lual-Acuil Jr (30 points) led Perth to an 80-77 win. Kouakou-Heugue (1.6 points, 1.0 rebounds, and 0.1 assists across 17 games) appeared exclusively from the bench, averaged 4.1 minutes and made 61.1 percent of his field-goal attempts during his first NBL season.
His best performance came against Cairns at the Cairns Convention Centre on October 22, where Kouakou-Heugue (8 points and 4 rebounds) made four of six shots across 16:17 and scored his first NBL points with a two-handed dunk. Lual-Acuil Jr (24 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 blocks), Doolittle (18 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists) and Pepper (18 points and 4 assists) led Perth, while Admiral Schofield (16 points) was Cairns’ leading scorer as the Wildcats won 110-78 and improved to 4-3.
Three nights later at RAC Arena, Kouakou-Heugue (7 points and 3 rebounds) made both of his field-goal attempts and all three free throws in 8:36 as Lual-Acuil Jr (18 points, 12 rebounds, and 3 blocks), Henshall (17 points) and Pepper (12 points) led Perth. JaVale McGee (24 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 assists) and Tyler Harvey (24 points, 5 rebounds, and 8 assists) carried Illawarra, with McGee making the deciding free throw and blocking Perth’s final attempt to secure an 85-84 Hawks win.
Following Perth’s November 2 loss to South East Melbourne, reports linked Kouakou-Heugue’s absence from the team to an attempted return to France to join Élan Chalon in search of greater playing opportunities. The Wildcats listed him as unavailable for personal reasons before he returned to training and was restored to the active roster for Round 10 after spending approximately two weeks away from the team.
Kouakou-Heugue’s other notable performance came against Cairns at RAC Arena on January 22, where he finished with 4 points, 1 rebound, and 1 steal in 7:47. Pepper (25 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals), Doolittle (19 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists) and Windler (15 points and 5 assists) led Perth, while Jack McVeigh (34 points) was Cairns’ best as the Wildcats won 106-69 for their fifth consecutive victory and improved to 16-10.
After Perth opened the season 3-2, Jones (11.4 points across five games) was released and David Duke Jr (via San Antonio) arrived as his replacement. Duke Jr (12.1 points and 3.2 assists across 19 games) added scoring and ball-handling before an elbow injury interrupted his season.
Doolittle (17.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 3.6 assists across 37 games) and Lual-Acuil Jr (16.9 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks across 37 games) led Perth offensively, while Windler (13 points and 6.8 rebounds across 32 games), Pepper (10.3 points and 3.3 rebounds across 37 games) and Henshall (8.7 points and 3.5 rebounds across 34 games) provided the other main contributions.
Doolittle earned All-NBL First Team honours and won the Gordon Ellis Medal as Perth’s club MVP and the Best Defensive Player award, while Wagstaff (3.2 points across 35 games) received the Players’ Player award and Gerovich (0 points across five games) received the Coaches Award. Okwera was named Perth’s Most Improved Player and was also selected in Australia’s squad for the February World Cup qualifiers.
Perth closed the regular season against Adelaide at RAC Arena on February 20, where Kouakou-Heugue remained on the bench as Pepper (22 points, 3 rebounds, and 5 assists) and Lual-Acuil Jr (21 points, 6 rebounds, and 1 block) led the Wildcats, while Nick Rakocevic (18 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 blocks) was Adelaide’s best. Perth won 86-74 to secure fourth place with a 21-12 record.
Kouakou-Heugue (0 points and 1 rebound) played 4:26 in Perth’s Seeding Qualifier against South East Melbourne at John Cain Arena, where Doolittle (22 points and 6 rebounds), Windler (13 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 blocks) and Henshall (11 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists) led the Wildcats. Nathan Sobey (24 points, 4 rebounds, and 7 assists), Owen Foxwell (18 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals) and Ian Clark (16 points) carried the Phoenix to a 111-94 win.
The Wildcats returned to RAC Arena for an elimination game against Melbourne three days later, where Kouakou-Heugue entered for the final 18 seconds as Lual-Acuil Jr (28 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 blocks), Doolittle (24 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals) and Windler (18 points and 9 rebounds) led Perth. Milton Doyle (13 points), Tyson Walker (12 points) and Jesse Edwards (12 points and 8 rebounds) were best for United, but the Wildcats outscored Melbourne 51-24 after half-time to win 95-77 and advance to the semifinals.
Kouakou-Heugue did not enter game one against Sydney at Qudos Bank Arena, where Doolittle (31 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals), Duke Jr (20 points, 6 rebounds, and 8 assists) and Lual-Acuil Jr (19 points and 12 rebounds) led Perth. Kendric Davis (35 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals), Torrey Craig (20 points and 9 rebounds) and Matthew Dellavedova (11 points and 3 assists) led the Kings, who survived several Perth attempts from the final possession to win 105-104.
Game two returned to RAC Arena, where Kouakou-Heugue remained unused as Henshall (20 points and 6 rebounds), Doolittle (15 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists) and Lual-Acuil Jr (9 points, 14 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals) led Perth. Davis (27 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists), Makuach Maluach (23 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks) and Craig (12 points and 7 rebounds) led Sydney, with the Kings pulling clear after half-time to complete the semifinal sweep and end Perth’s season with an 89-75 win.
Noa Kouakou-Heugue — Best Plays of NBL26 (2025/26)
Watch Noa Kouakou-Heugue’s official NBL26 season highlights on YouTube
Noa Kouakou-Heugue played one season in the NBL. He averaged 1.6 points, 1 rebounds, and 0.1 assists in 17 NBL games.
NBL TOTAL STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 18 | Perth | 21-12 (4) | 17 | 63 | 27 | 17 | 1 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 18 | 61% | 0 | 1 | 0% | 5 | 10 | 50% | 59% | 61% | 8 | Totals | 17 | 63 | 27 | 17 | 1 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 18 | 61.1% | 0 | 1 | 0.0% | 5 | 10 | 50.0% | 60% | 61% | 8 |
NBL PER GAME STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 18 | Perth | 21-12 (4) | 17 | 3.7 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 61% | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0% | 0.3 | 0.6 | 50% | 59% | 61% | 8 | Total | 17 | 3.7 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 61.1% | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.0% | 0.3 | 0.6 | 50.0% | 60% | 61% | 8 |
CAREER HIGHS
| POINTS | REBOUNDS | ASSISTS | STEALS | BLOCKS | TURNOVERS | TRIPLE DOUBLES | 8 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|---|
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
- France - Pôle France Paris (2023–2025), Élan Chalon (2026–)
Kouakou-Heugue made his senior club debut with Pôle France Paris in France’s Nationale Masculine 1 during the 2023–24 season. Across 28 league games he averaged 3.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 0.6 assists in 18 minutes per game.
He took a significant step forward in 2024–25, averaging 9.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.0 block across 34 NM1 appearances for Pôle France.
In March 2025, Kouakou-Heugue helped Pôle France win the Adidas Next Generation Tournament qualifier in Belgrade, defeating Milan 74–60 in the final. He was named tournament MVP after averaging 15.5 points and 8.0 rebounds, and was also selected to the tournament’s starting five.
On 24 June 2026, Élan Chalon announced Kouakou-Heugue’s signing for the 2026–27 season, bringing him back to the French club system after his year in Australia.
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