French big man Jonathan Jeanne was a prospect that many had as a late first round pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. He was falling anywhere from 22 with the Brooklyn Nets down to the Los Angeles Lakers at 28. He’s a big, athletic and long center prospect who is really raw and has some room for improvement.
At 19 years old there’s time for Jeanne to build into a solid option at center for some teams. He stands at 7’2″, with a 7’6″ wingspan and has some good skills around the rim and appeared to be a great prospect for a team looking for a guy with his talents.
Unfortunately, Jeanne’s NBA career might not get started after he was diagnosed with the super rare condition Marfan syndrome. It’s the same condition former Baylor Bears lottery prospect Isaiah Austin was diagnosed with ahead of the 2014 NBA Draft. Austin recently started playing basketball again at the end of 2016 and is on a team in Serbia.
Following comes from Shams Charania of The Vertical.
French center Jonathan Jeanne, who was expected to be a first-round selection in the 2017 NBA draft, has been diagnosed with Marfan syndrome, a potentially career-ending disorder, agent Bouna Ndiaye told The Vertical.
Jeanne underwent an MRI while participating in the Chicago Draft Combine in May that showed an abnormality in his spine that required follow-up examinations. He completed medical, physical and genetic testing at the Cleveland Clinic and received the results Thursday that revealed a serious heart issue because of the condition.
Jeanne, 19, is not expected to receive clearance for NBA workouts moving forward. At 7-foot-2, Jeanne was a rapidly rising prospect whom NBA executives believed could develop into a rotational center.
He worked out for an NBA team as recently as Wednesday when he visited the Toronto Raptors.
Jeanne remains hopeful that he can one day resume his basketball career after extensive medical supervision, Ndiaye said.
