2025 International Prospect Big Board
A big board and preseason preview of this years top international prospects.
International basketball seasons tip off soon. Domestic leagues featuring high level prospects tend to start their regular seasons mid to late September. Spanish Liga ACB tips off late September this year, while Basketball Bundesliga, French top flight LNB Pro A and NBL will be underway this weekend. All these leagues feature prospects rated as lottery talents by The Draftstack’s 2025 NBA Draft Big Board ranking 200 prospects.
Once their seasons start, a lot will be made about these players’ performances in light of fresh data. Many who watch film of international prospects are able to familiarise themselves with the player’s profile, tendencies, strengths and weaknesses. But context around the player’s surroundings, opponents, coaching, team context, competition context are often missing. There is a general lack of knowledge around different competitions and the basketball environment in different places, resulting in the prospect being judged in a vacuum on raw film.
In this case, before prospects who will play professional basketball this season start their campaigns, I reckon a pre-season outlook on their team context, expected roles and competitions should be helpful. A lot will be made about the performances of these prospects and before they start performing, laying a contextual grounding for their seasons to come should precede predictive assessments of their campaigns.
I’ll go over each prospect in descending order per their ranking in The Draftstack 2025 NBA Draft Big Board.
1- Hugo González
Scouting Report
Big Board Rank: #3
Team: Real Madrid
Date of Birth: 5 February 2006
Position: Winger/Forward
Hugo played extremely limited minutes for Real Madrid’s senior team last season. He totalled 57 minutes in 10 appearances at the Spanish top flight Liga ACB and just 26 minutes across 6 appearances in EuroLeague. He continued to play in youth competitions for los blancos, registering playing time at EuroLeague’s U18 tournament as well. For this season, he is expected to be a part of the senior team full time.
Real Madrid’s youth academy has been arguably the biggest talent attraction for prospects all over the world for at least a decade. But very few get to play meaningful minutes for the senior team. The senior team probably made Real Madrid the most successful European club over the last decade, which means they operate at a very high level of basketball with ambitions of winning every competition they play in. This makes it difficult for even highly touted prospects to get playing time in the senior team.
#2 overall selection in the 2024 NBA Draft, Alex Sarr, joined OTE and later NBL to be able to get playing time after spending a couple of seasons at Real Madrid’s youth academy. Spanish club reportedly received a buy-out compensation of €550k for Egor Demin’s move to BYU as well, who was Hugo’s partner in crime in headlining Real Madrid’s U18 team last season. Juan Núñez, #36 overall selection in the 2024 NBA Draft, made the move to Ulm in Germany from Real Madrid in 2022, primarily to get more playing time.
Last season it was speculated whether Hugo González would also make such a move to receive more playing time in another team. The fact that he stays at Real Madrid should raise expectations of more reps from him at the professional level this season. As above examples show, Real Madrid have no problem of letting a prospect leave if they don’t have plans to utilise him in the senior team, nor do homegrown prospects have a problem of leaving the club to get more reps elsewhere. González staying with the club implies both parties recognise Hugo will have a more established role with the senior team this season.
Rudy Fernández who registered nearly 800 minutes in 56 matches at SG/SF has retired from basketball this summer. Hugo should receive some of those minutes this season. The aging veteran was an important part of Real Madrid’s defensive system for the last several seasons of his career, providing active positioning off the ball and shrinking space. Hugo’s defensive style is quite different and he doesn’t possess the experience to contribute that way. But if the plan is for González to replace Fernández, defensive contribution and work rate will be instrumental to Hugo’s role in the team.
Contribution is always an unknown with young players at this level. For the early season at least, I’d expect Hugo to get more chances at Liga ACB than in EuroLeague. Depending on his performance, he could be eased into EuroLeague rotation as well. If Real Madrid didn’t extend Alberto Abalde’s contract, I’d have more faith in Hugo assuming a considerable role early on. But Abalde was one of the most disappointing transfer moves in Real Madrid history and extending his contract now, seems to be an insurance policy if Hugo’s performance falls below their expectations.
Liga ACB is the most competitive domestic league in the world after the NBA, but Real Madrid are more comfortable reverting to squad depth there compared to EuroLeague. For this reason, I’d expect Hugo to get more minutes and a consistent role on the team in ACB play throughout the season than EuroLeague. However his performances should dictate his minutes and if he’s having a break out season, then his EuroLeague campaign will be something to watch as well.
In any case, don’t expect to see many on-ball reps from Hugo this season. He will play in an off-ball role in Real Madrid’s system and it’ll be hard to gauge any development of his dribbling. On the other hand, his shooting and strength will be properly tested in this off-ball role. His movement should bode well in Real Madrid’s high-tempo half-court offence but we will see if he has the shooting touch and strength to convert on those opportunities.
2- Nolan Traoré
Scouting Report
Big Board Rank: #5
Team: Saint-Quentin BB
Date of Birth: 28 May 2006
Position: Point Guard
Traoré made a drastic move from French third tier to French top flight towards the end of the last season. He was unexpectedly productive for Saint-Quentin, averaging 10.3 points and 5.4 assists in seven appearances in the top flight after averaging 16.8 points and 5.5 assists in the third tier all season. His efficiency was bad with a 44.8% true shooting and 3.1 turnovers at the highest ladder of French basketball but his unexpected production turned heads of everyone even with the inefficiency. It is not normal for a 17-year-old to be that productive in that level of competition, but it is especially rare from a point guard. Other position players may rely on their height and length to a degree but young point guards are not supposed to be productive players at this level.
Furthermore, Traoré was thrown into a mid-table team fighting to be in play-offs towards the end of the season. He was a new addition to a team that played together for several months until he joined them. It was his debut in the league and this was a tremendous leap in competition for him. To exacerbate all these issues, he was the point guard.
Beyond his box score production, what was most impressive about Traoré’s play was that he was really entrusted with running the offence of this team and against all odds he pulled it off. It cannot be understated how rare it is to see that in a domestic league from a point guard 17 years old. He applied endless rim pressure and his dribble drive threat opened up Saint-Quentin’s attacking. The terror he unleashes on the opposing point-of-attack defence translated seamlessly from youth levels to third division to top flight. That shows remarkable, almost unprecedented talent. It’s why his draft stock skyrocketed deservedly at the end of last season, the reason wasn’t his blend of unexpected box score production and individual inefficiency for Saint-Quentin.
Following his break-out stint for Saint Quentin, he continued to play in youth events. In North America, he showed out in the Hoop Summit. Weeks later in Berlin, he participated in the finals of EuroLeague’s U18 tournament and dominated. After his ridiculous showing against Barcelona, which have a top notch U18 team, people following youth basketball were convinced he had become too good for youth level.
Nolan Traoré will just focus on his professional season this time around. He’s not going to hop from tournament to tournament, league to league, team to team like he did last season. He will run Saint-Quentin’s offence in LNB Pro A and try to lead the modest northern French side to the play-offs. He will receive a lot of minutes. He will be entrusted to carry the creation burden for SQBB’s attack. He’s going to have high-volume outputs and we will be able to dissect every part of his game in a lead attacking role.
It’s a blueprint draft people have grown accustomed to in the last few years. It is the blueprint of last two #1 overall selections in the draft. Victor Wembanyama moved from ASVEL to Metropolitans 92 in his last season in France. Going to a more modest team and not playing any continental competitions, Wembanyama was able to feature in a leading role playing one match a week. Zaccharie Risacher also left ASVEL, a EuroLeague side, to go to JL Bourg and assume a significant role in the team. JL Bourg was perhaps the perfect choice for a player like Risacher, because as a two-way off-ball forward, a team where he could assume more on-ball responsibilities would not help him as much. His move to JL Bourg looked like a step down at the time, but the team was just strong enough without him that they could highlight Risacher’s strengths and hide his weaknesses.
Traoré, of course, is a very different type of a player compared to both Wembanyama and Risacher positionally, stylistically and otherwise. But the context around his season should carry one key similarity from Wembanyama and Risacher each. Like Wembanyama, Nolan Traoré will be given the chance to lead a modest LNB Pro A side in what is expected to be his last season in France before he is selected in the NBA Draft. But unlike Wembanyama and like Risacher, Traoré will also feature in a continental competition. Saint-Quentin qualified for Basketball Champions League (BCL), which is second or third tier continental competition in Europe depending on who you ask. In Group C of the regular season, the French side will play home-and-away matches against strong teams like CB Canarias of Spain and Karşıyaka of Turkey. So that’s another stage where Traoré will be tested against different kinds of teams and in challenging away atmospheres compared to France.
For reference, CB Canarias are used to overwhelming success in BCL and as a result they’ve attended FIBA Intercontinental Cup a bunch of times pitting them against clubs from different continents. In the 2020 edition, they’ve defeated Rio Grande Valley Vipers, reigning G-League champions at the time 110-89. In the 2023 edition, Tenerife side defeated BCL Americas champion São Paulo 89-68 in the final, after São Paulo defeated G-League champion Rio Grande Valley Vipers 91-70 in the semi-final. This is the level of competition Traoré will be up against in Saint-Quentin’s continental campaign.
3- Noa Essengue
Scouting Report
Big Board Rank: #6
Team: ratiopharm Ulm
Date of Birth: 18 December 2006
Position: Forward
Ratiopharm Ulm, German champions of the 2022-2023 season, has an interesting organisation combining ambitious player development with a competitive mindset of silverware aspirations. I’d argue out of all the top developmental centres in European basketball (Real Madrid, Mega Basket, INSEP, Barça, etc.) they’ve managed to blend developmental and competitive aspects of the sport the best.
Two of Ulm’s senior team players, Pacôme Dadiet and Juan Núñez were 2024 Draft selections but Noa Essengue did not follow their trail from France after seeing their success at Ulm. French forward moved from INSEP to Ulm the summer before, in 2023 already and this’ll be his second season at the club.
Essengue registered few minutes with the senior team in Bundesliga last season, but he mainly played for the feeder team OrangeAcademy in the third tier.
Speaking of developmental attractions in Europe, KK Mega Basket has long embraced a method of implementing the prospects they identified in a clear squad hierarchy and lean on polishing the production of the prospects they invested in at the ABA Liga stage. It is a more artificial and streamlined approach than other clubs have and it doesn’t mind competitiveness. This isn’t Ulm’s approach to their project, but it seems much like Mega’s established strategy, they are also embracing the revolving door of prospects coming in and out every year. It may just be a feature or a consequence of a successful developmental project at the end of the day. The difference with Ulm is given their competitive aspirations, they don’t fill the entire squad with prospects like Mega do. With Dadiet and Núñez both leaving Ulm this summer, 22-23 German champions replaced French winger and Spanish point guard with Noa Essengue and Ben Saraf. Essengue was already with Ulm of course, but much like how Mega operates, Ulm seems to have adopted the method of two draft prospects featuring in serious roles on the senior team. For Noa Essengue, last season was to dip his toes in the water. This season, he will be thrust into the limelight.
Bundesliga is an offence happy league, generally employing attacking minded coaches and weaker interior defenders. Movement, tempo and space are in abundance in German top flight and it’ll be very interesting to see how Noa Essengue’s interior scoring will translate at the professional level in this environment.
Essengue has limited ball skills at this level, and I wouldn’t expect those to get much shine in his role. But his decision making will be tested at his position (likely to play the 4) and his ability to operate at half-court will impact his minutes. Running the floor is one of his main strengths but he won’t find as many transition opportunities he has found at youth levels and maintaining the same productivity as a rim runner at half-court attacks is not a given.
There’s also the fact that he’s inexperienced at the pro level, even compared to teammate Ben Saraf who is the same age. Learning curve is going to be especially important for Essengue, as he may have trouble immediately translating his game to this level. He’s a good offensive rebounder who should add to his production for Ulm with this skill, but it’s an open question how confident he will be in applying his strengths as he adapts to Bundesliga level.
Nevertheless, Ulm has carved out a clear role for him. He will be a back-up forward and they’ll likely expect his season to mirror Dadiet’s 23-24 campaign. Unlike Real Madrid with Hugo González, they didn’t secure extra squad depth as insurance. Noa Essengue is expected to be a complimentary piece on this team, but given his versatility on both sides of the ball, he will get the chance or the burden of proving his strengths such as interior scoring, running the floor, offensive rebounding, defensive activity, defensive playmaking translate to high level basketball.
4- Noah Penda
Scouting Report
Big Board Rank: #11
Team: Le Mans Sarthe
Date of Birth: 7 January 2005
Position: Forward
After two seasons in the French second tier LNB Pro B, Noah Penda has signed a 3-year contract with top flight club Le Mans Sarthe. Penda’s trajectory thus far has been a gradual one, building up considerable pro experience for his age and making incremental improvements to his impact on the court each season. His move from Pro B to Pro A follows that same trajectory.
Le Mans have experienced forwards on the team but it’s not a particularly deep squad. Moreover, he has been starting at the SF in Le Mans preseason friendlies. In four friendlies, he averaged almost 10 points in about 24 minutes of playing time. It should be noted that Penda was coming off the bench for JA Vichy last season in LNB Pro B. While the NBA hierarchy between starters and the bench doesn’t exist in European basketball, this is a compelling signal of a consistent role awaiting Noah Penda in this upcoming season.
It is also notable that he’s been playing at the 3 in preseason preparation. While you could argue his play style is more fitting of a power forward, being given opportunities at the 3 might challenge him to improve his weaknesses, such as shooting ability.
5- Rocco Zikarsky
Scouting Report
Big Board Rank: #13
Team: Brisbane Bullets
Date of Birth: 11 July 2006
Position: Centre
A taste of Rocco Zikarsky’s situation was already given on Draftstack in this piece examining NBL’s Next Stars programme.
NBL is an interesting league to scout draft prospects because while the league is FIBA codified like much of professional basketball, the pace of the game is borderline NBA level. Pace, as in possession count here, isn’t directly about the ruleset unlike court dimensions, goaltending and so forth. At least not since the NBA adopted FIBA’s shot clock rule after an offensive rebound. But, it has always been one of the most impactful differences between NBA gameplay and traditional FIBA-rules gameplay, with the latter featuring a much lower pace of the game and a lot more half-court play. NBL blends FIBA-rules basketball with NBA-level pace of the game. For every player coming into the NBA, adjusting to the different pace of the game is usually one of the most challenging adaptations. NBL, in theory at least, offers players an easier adaptation on this front.
It seems like a given that Zikarsky will have a more prominent role at centre this season for Brisbane Bullets. It will be an especially enticing campaign if he’s able to anchor his team’s defence with the responsibility he’s being given this season. Defensive side of the ball is what primarily lifts Zikarsky’s upside and it’s not very common that we get to see a stellar defensive prospect put under spotlight having to anchor his team’s defence. It is the defensive version of aforementioned Nolan Traoré being given keys to run his team’s offence, which is also rare. Most prospects at these levels will only be judged by their individual play and how they fit into a team. Few get the chance to be the engine of their team’s output on one side of the ball. And only for those very few, we get an early peek of the next layer for a player: How their individual play impacts their team’s output. Whether Zikarsky will seize this opportunity and allow us to see how his defensive play immediately relates to Bullets’ defensive performance or he has an NBL campaign more similar to 23-24 Alex Sarr’s, remains to be seen.
6- Dame Sarr
Scouting Report
Big Board Rank: #29
Team: Barcelona
Date of Birth: 4 June 2006
Position: Shooting Guard
Quite honestly, Sarr is the first player on this list thus far that I don’t expect to register a lot of meaningful minutes, if at all, for the entire season. It's just the simple fact that he plays for Barcelona, which is a team any prospect his age would find borderline impossible to crack the rotation. It is, perhaps, even more challenging for a guard like him as opposed to a taller, interior player who could at least offer sheer length and size against adults he’d be competing against.
Add to the fact that Sarr is a bit raw still, in the sense that he can be a little inconsistent at producing even his strengths on the court even at the youth levels, I don’t expect Joan Peñarroya will carve minutes and a role for Sarr beyond garbage time minutes and some very situational, short appearances in competitive minutes.
If that’s the case all season, 2025 might not be his time to get drafted. Unless he takes a giant leap this season, the only viable pathway would be a midseason loan out by Barça to another team. That is not without precedent. Michael Caicedo, another shooting guard prospect previously with Barça, was loaned out midseason to Fundación Granada just a couple season back, after starting the season with Barcelona. But, Caicedo had spent the full season on Barcelona’s bench the season before, so it is quite possible the same fate awaits Dame Sarr for this season.
7- Michael Ružić
Scouting Report
Big Board Rank: #33
Team: Joventut Badalona
Date of Birth: 4 October 2006
Position: Power Forward
Michael Ružić already recieved plenty minutes last season for Joventut Badalona, averaging almost 17 minutes in 26 appearances at Liga ACB. This season, Joventut’s squad is perhaps weakest at the 4. That could be purposeful squad construction with the club being encouraged by Ružić’s 23-24 campaign and expecting him to further add to his productive play.
Out of all the players on this list, Ružić could be the one least exposed to change. I expect his season to be pretty much like the 23-24 season, only a little more of everything. More minutes, more production, more responsibility, more chances as structure and the situation stay the same.
8- Izan Almansa
Scouting Report
Big Board Rank: #38
Team: Perth Wildcats
Date of Birth: 7 June 2005
Position: PF/C
Alex Sarr and Izan Almansa were two young interiors in the same age group at Real Madrid’s youth academy a few years ago. Alex Sarr moved to OTE from Madrid, and then to Perth Wildcats of the NBL from OTE. Almansa too, moved to OTE from Madrid but instead of Australia, he headed to G League Ignite last summer. Sarr ended up as the second overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft while Almansa now takes Sarr’s place on Perth Wildcats to try his luck in the next draft.
Not only Almansa will be a year older than Sarr in their respective NBL seasons, Almansa was always the more polished player of the two. So the Spaniard will undoubtedly get plenty of chances to improve his standing in the draft and production should come with it too. Of course, that is not the question with Izan Almansa. The reason for departure between his and Alex Sarr’s trajectories was that Sarr was attributed with desirable upside, particularly as a defender, whereas opposite came true for Almansa. A case for desirable upside in an NBA context is not as simple to make for Izan Almansa and that is the primary reason he’s trailing his former teammate by one year now.
I expect Almansa to show reasonable production in the NBL, the high pace of play mixed with the FIBA-rules basketball he’s trained for, should bode well for him. But that’s not going to answer the question of upside in an NBA context. Situational uplift in production won’t be sufficient to answer that question. In economists’ speak, it’s not the GDP growth, but multi-factor productivity growth we should watch with Almansa. In other words, a more productive Izan Almansa season should be expected this season. Context almost requires it. But how his weaknesses and question marks (defence, position, etc.) relate to his place in competitive basketball and whether he can lift his performance to a level beyond an expected growth in his productivity, are the burning questions that will be answered in Almansa’s push for a higher draft standing.
9- Momo Faye
Big Board Rank: #66
Team: Reggiana
Date of Birth: 5 February 2005
Position: Centre
Momo Faye was already a regular feature on Reggiana, a tough play-off team on the Italian top flight last season. Senegalese centre averaged over 18 minutes in 30 appearances during the regular season and over 16 minutes in 5 appearances in the play-offs.
This season should be more of the same. His situation at Reggiana is very reminiscent of Joventut’s Michael Ružić. The centre rotation is open for Faye to perform and given the significance of aging up a year at these ages, everything could be the same but a little more for Momo Faye akin to my expectations of Michael Ružić’s season.
I don’t know what type of a campaign could convince decision makers to lift Faye’s standing in the draft, but he’s sure to get a lot of playing chances which can’t be said for a few of the more highly regarded prospects on this list.
10- Zacharie Perrin
Big Board Rank: #85
Team: SLUC Nancy
Date of Birth: 30 August 2004
Position: Power Forward
Zacharie Perrin has a similar situation with Noah Penda. Both players spent the last season in French second tier Pro B, played for the national team in U20 EuroBasket in the summer, signed 3-year contracts with Pro A clubs and will make the transition from second division to top flight basketball.
A notable difference with draft ramifications is that Perrin is a year older than Noah Penda. Otherwise everything between the two is quite similar. Perrin has proven to be a productive player at youth levels, and carried solid production at pro level to LNB Pro B last season as well. He will have plenty of chances at Nancy like Penda. Although another difference between the two French forwards could be that Perrin will spend more time at the 4.
11- Bogoljub Marković
Big Board Rank: #88
Team: Mega Basket
Date of Birth: 12 July 2005
Position: Power Forward
In Noa Essengue’s section, I already brought up Mega Basket’s strategy of implementing a squad hierarchy, working with and on primarily young prospects in their team, valuing development over competitiveness and the success of their methods in polishing prospects to be drafted into the NBA.
I feel Mega’s 24-25 squad lacks a top tier prospect so the hierarchy could be more fluid this season. And I am curious how they’ll maintain competitiveness at ABA Liga. Of course, team success is not their primary goal, it never was. But they’ll want to avoid relegation if it comes to that.
In this picture, Bogoljub Marković is the prospect who I feel will end up headlining this season’s Mega side and that gives him plenty of spotlight to rise up in draft boards. He has little professional experience despite being part of the 2005 age group and yet he feels the most ready to take that mantle at Mega. Without a clear headliner prospect like Nikola Topić or even Nikola Đurišić at Mega this season, I find Bogoljub Marković’s situation to be pretty comfortable for him. His efficiency and impact on team performance should be monitored closely in this case.
12- Mitar Bošnjaković
Big Board Rank: #92
Team: Partizan
Date of Birth: 24 August 2006
Position: Winger
This’ll be Mitar Bošnjaković’s debut season as a pro. Serbian prospect made the move from Real Madrid’s youth academy to Partizan’s senior team. He’s most likely not going to get any EuroLeague minutes except for ceremonial appearances. I am doubtful he’ll receive plenty of competitive minutes at ABA Liga either, though you can expect he’ll have more appearances there especially in blow-out situations.
With this move to Partizan and a patient pro debut on the horizon, I suspect Mitar Bošnjaković could be expected to not declare for or later withdraw from the 2025 draft. He is young and inexperienced enough that it’s a logical move too.
13- Andrija Jelavić
Big Board Rank: #98
Team: Mega Basket
Date of Birth: 26 May 2004
Position: Power Forward
Andrija Jelavić is one of the oldest prospects on the list and he already had a lot of experience with Mega’s senior team last season. Croatian prospect averaged 10 points, 7 rebounds in almost 32 minutes during ABA Liga regular season and he could very well be the most productive player on Mega given his experience this season.
One improvement area to watch would be his efficiency. He’s shown to be a productive but not an efficient scorer so far. Unless he improves on his scoring efficiency this season, I’m sceptical he’ll be drafted even purely for stashing reasons.
14- Ben Saraf
Big Board Rank: #102
Team: ratiopharm Ulm
Date of Birth: 14 April 2006
Position: Guard
At 16 years old Ben Saraf played in the Israeli second division and had a very productive, albeit inefficient season. At 17 years old Ben Saraf played in the Israeli top division and had a very productive, albeit inefficient season. He didn’t play for upper echelon sides and played for teams where he could be given plenty of responsibility and playing time instead. I feel that was a smart pathway that aided his development.
At Ulm, he replaces Juan Núñez. In Ben Saraf’s teammate Noa Essengue’s section, I had written how the German club blends development and competitiveness. Ben Saraf, after a tournament MVP-awarded showing at U18 European Championship this summer, will have the chance to seize on an opportunity to run the offence for a competitive team of Ulm’s calibre now. Quality in Israeli basketball tends to drop hard after a handful of teams, even in the top flight, so you can expect this to be a much tougher challenge for Saraf. But he built up the experience in terms of role and responsibility. It is supposed to be a steep incline in level in the same role.
Drawing lessons from Juan Núñez’s tenure at Ulm, it could be wise to not expect high volume creation from Ben Saraf. He is capable of that, even moreso than Núñez stylistically, but Ulm’s stature is levels beyond his previous clubs as well as youth national basketball, as important as U18 EuroBasket can be in youth basketball.
Nevertheless, Ben Saraf’s calculated career direction has looked very smart so far. And I think of his transfer to Ulm in the same light. Ulm were looking to replace their young players and a dramatic step-up in competition was perhaps what Ben Saraf needed at this point. To make that step-up without getting buried to the bench is never likely. Ulm may have been the best club to avoid that outcome. And so the Israeli guard will have all the chances in the world to determine his standing in the draft. External factors shouldn’t limit his movement in big boards, which can’t be said for most of the prospects. We’ll have a good idea how good Ben Saraf is exactly, health provided.
15- Bassala Bagayoko
Big Board Rank: #114
Team: Bilbao Basket
Date of Birth: 14 September 2006
Position: Centre
Bassala Bagayoko has spent past seasons with Spanish club Fuenlabrada but ACB side Bilbao Basket has signed him for the upcoming season.
For his young age, he received decent amount of opportunities at Liga ACB with his old club. I’m a little sceptical how much he’ll be featured at Bilbao. The Basque side is a competitive team, has a deep interior rotation as well. Bagayoko will have appearances, where I’m doubtful is whether he’ll play enough to show his play outside of a narrow scope.
16- Sergio de Larrea
Big Board Rank: #122
Team: Valencia Basket
Date of Birth: 4 December 2005
Position: G/F
Valencia is a strong team and the fact that de Larrea didn’t exactly kill it during his spell at LEB Plata, Spanish third tier, last season, sends a strong signal that the leap to getting meaningful minutes for Valencia this season is too much to ask for.
Valencia value its youth prospects, don’t let them leave easily and like promoting them to the senior team. But even if they weren’t one of the strongest non-EuroLeague teams in Europe, I’m not sure Sergio de Larrea is ready to play top flight basketball in any case. He didn’t have a good U20 EuroBasket display over the summer and he’ll most certainly not going to be in the draft come June.
17- Eli Ndiaye
Big Board Rank: #123
Team: Real Madrid
Date of Birth: 26 June 2004
Position: Power Forward
It’s hard to find a player with more proven play than Eli Ndiaye among all the international prospects. After being promoted to the senior team from Real Madrid youth academy, the Senegalese power forward has been surprisingly asked to handle big responsibilities in key moments for los blancos. It is already exceedingly uncommon for a player as young as him to be a starter in EuroLeague Final 4, but to start the contest with his scoring in such high stakes setting is something else. Injuries and suspensions to Real Madrid’s power forward rotation worked in Ndiaye’s favour to feature in such settings, but it was entirely his own poise and composure to deliver on the biggest stages, where the most experienced players can crumble under pressure.
Guerschon Yabusele’s transfer to Philadelphia 76ers opened up a PF spot in Real Madrid’s squad but los blancos haven’t replaced the French player yet. Although Real Madrid have one of the deepest squads in the old continent, and could use other players from the squad at the 4 by moving them up or down a position, this should nevertheless increase Eli Ndiaye’s minutes.
Despite his flash showings in key moments for the most successful club in European basketball, Eli Ndiaye hasn’t moved up much in draft boards. Given his age at this point, he may need to show an additional dimension to his game that he hasn’t shown previously. I think if that happens, it’ll be on the offensive end. He already showcased his shotmaking flashes plenty, so impressive flashes of dribbling could be the added dimension that uplifts his standing in draft boards. It’s hard to gauge the boundaries of a player like him, who plays so poised in a limited scope within the machine that is Real Madrid’s offensive system. Ball skills, handling, decision making at the 4 don’t really feature in that system. But, even without showing anything extra, given his proven moments at the top of club basketball, there’s a chance Eli Ndiaye gets drafted if only because of stashing purposes. And even if he doesn’t, he’s still a prospect to watch for because his poised play as a teenager was borderline unprecedented.
18- Killian Malwaya
Big Board Rank: #134
Team: Champagne Basket
Date of Birth: 4 May 2005
Position: SG
Killian Malwaya spent the 23-24 season at French second tier Pro B and he’s not changing leagues this season. He did change teams however, with his move to Champagne. Pro B season started this past weekend and Malwaya scored efficiently in his first match, as he did for the 23-24 season in general.
There are a lot of upsides to playing in lower divisions for prospects. I figure a notable downside for Killian Malwaya, or maybe French prospects in general, is that there are a handful of draft prospects in the French top flight following the footsteps of Victor Wembanyama, Zaccharie Risacher and others. So, although playing in lower divisions shouldn’t be looked down upon for a prospect in general, with Noah Penda and Zacharie Perrin’s aforementioned moves from Pro B to Pro A this summer, Killian Malwaya is not going to be in the limelight for draft scouts like he could have been before. This doesn’t prevent him from performing to the max and forcing himself to the conversation though, and a productive season may catch the eye of a top flight team and facilitate a move to Pro A as well. Otherwise, lofty box score production is going to be the only way to catch the attention for prospects at lower divisions, which I wouldn’t expect from Killian Malwaya.
19- Alex Samodurov
Big Board Rank: #148
Team: Panathinaikos
Date of Birth: 20 April 2005
Position: PF/C
Panathinaikos are the reigning European champions and they’ve added depth to interior rotation this summer. Greek top flight isn’t the most competitive league in the continent and foreigner rules should aid Samodurov to some appearances for PAO there. However, despite a thinner interior rotation last season, he wasn’t considered for the domestic league rotation either and was loaned out earlier in the season to a second division side. He didn’t impress in the lower division either, so despite a year of aging up, it is doubtful he’ll get opportunities at Panathinaikos. Another loan spell is possible and probably necessary.
20- Neoklis Avdalas
Big Board Rank: #149
Team: Peristeri
Date of Birth: 4 February 2006
Position: G/F
Speaking of Panathinaikos, Neoklis Avdalas is another prospect they have. Avdalas is already loaned out to another Greek club though. Peristeri is a solid side on the rise. At a lower stature where a talent like Avdalas could get minutes, but competitive enough that if he doesn’t perform, he’s not guaranteed minutes. This poses a challenging enrivonment for Neoklis Avdalas in a positive way helpful for development.
I expect Peristeri to give Avdalas some on-ball reps which is important for a player who has creator potential. His performance and efficiency shall determine the extent of his responsibilities.