In the dog days of the offseason, let’s look ahead to the 2025 NBA Draft and some international players to keep an eye on.
It’s August. There isn’t much going on in Pistons land.
While we wonder if and how the team’s final roster spot gets filled, debate who J.B. Bickerstaff names as opening night starters and ponder the potential role for rookie Ron Holland, I thought now was a good time to look ahead to next year’s NBA Draft.
Yes, 2025 draft prospects haven’t played a game in their respective pre-draft seasons yet. But, the new draft class has a ton of players that NBA teams and fans should be excited about.
While incoming Duke freshman Cooper Flagg is the highlight, there are a number of international prospects who are making their case to be a high draft pick in 2025.
So, let’s highlight a handful of players who will spend their pre-draft years overseas. This is not an all-inclusive list by any means. It’s only a group of players who have caught my eye that I’ll keep close tabs on over the year. Some of that attention is due to recent play, specifically during the FIBA U18 EuroBasket tournament that recently concluded, which a number of draft prospects participated in. Otherwise, I considered prospects who impressed over various events and over their prior season.
I’ll get into the many draft studs suiting up for college teams closer to the season, including the top players like Flagg, Ace Bailey, Dylan Harper and V.J. Edgecombe.
For now, let’s discuss the immense international talent pool that is draft eligible next season.
As this list is just scratching the surface, let me know any other names that stand out to you as we look ahead to the next NBA Draft.
Nolan Traoré
Height: 6’3”
Position: Guard
Birthdate: May 28, 2006
Current Team: Saint-Quentin (France)
To me, Traoré is the best international prospect in the 2025 draft class. A lot can change, but Traoré looks every bit of the next high level NBA point guard.
He’s a true floor general who can manipulate defenses as an effective pick-and-roll operator. I started paying close attention to Traoré after the Nike Hoop Summit, where he scored 18 points and had four assists representing Team World.
Traoré looked like the leader of a World team which included other top prospects like Edgecombe (incoming Baylor freshman), Khaman Maluach (incoming Duke freshman) and A.J. Dybantsa (the top prospect in the 2026 draft class). It wasn’t just the game, too. Traoré was the leader of the group throughout the week’s practices as many NBA scouts and executives looked on.
At the FIBA U18 EuroBasket tournament that recently finished, Traoré led the field in assists, averaging 9.3 dimes per game. He didn’t look to score a ton, other than a 29-point, 11-assist performance in his French team’s last game against Lithuania, but his presence and control helped lead his team to a 6-1 record.
On the other hand, he did average close to five turnovers per game, which isn’t a huge concern because of the usage and defensive pressure he saw. Nevertheless, the turnovers are something to monitor over his pre-draft season.
Traoré doesn’t necessarily stand out as an athlete, but his first step and change of pace allows him to get to the rim seamlessly. His shot looks solid to me, too. He shot 42.9% from three at U18 EuroBasket, although on lower volume. He’s a clear top prospect in the 2025 class for me, who can then develop into an NBA team’s lead guard of the future.
Rocco Zikarsky
Height: 7’3”
Position: Big
Birthdate: July 10, 2006
Current Team: Brisbane Bullets (Australia)
Need a big man? Come get your 7-foot plus rim protector with two seasons of high-level professional experience come draft night.
Zikarsky played in the NBL last season, where he’ll continue this year, hopefully in an expanded role. Last season, he averaged just 7.4 minutes with Brisbane, but still blocked one shot per game.
He’s a good last line of defense, with solid instincts in help and ultimately protecting the paint. He moves decently well for a big, but hopefully we see improvement in his mobility over the next season to further justify a high first-round selection. He crashes the glass and puts himself in good position on offense for easy put-backs, which he’ll often win out on at his size.
Zikarsky is impressive as a roller. He’s even flashed some passing chops, which you hope can translate to the NBA in short-roll situations. He doesn’t shoot threes, so I’m interested to see whether a long-range shot is a tool that he develops and tries to flash over his pre-draft process. If he could shoot, or at least show upside as a shooter, we might be talking about Zikarsky in a prospect lens similar to Alex Sarr. At the very least, I see Zikarsky as a true defensive anchor at the NBA level who possesses the tools to grow offensively.
Depending where the Pistons select next season and the future in Detroit for Jalen Duren, Isaiah Stewart and Paul Reed, Zikarsky could fit the bill to add size in the frontcourt and rim protection that is desperately needed. He’ll still be 18 years old on draft night, leaving considerable upside for the future.
Ben Saraf
Height: 6’6”
Position: Combo Guard
Birthdate: April 14, 2006
Current Team: Ratiopharm Ulm (Germany)
Saraf certainly increased his draft stock recently when he was named MVP of the FIBA U18 EuroBasket, a tournament which included Traoré, Hugo González and Noa Essengue, who are all expected to be first-round picks next year.
Over seven games in the tournament, Saraf averaged 28.1 points, 5.3 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 5.0 stocks (steals plus blocks) per game. He shot 36.2% from three on a strong 6.7 attempts per game. He popped for two 40-point games, which helped his Israeli team reach it all the way to the semi-finals, but where I came away most impressed with Saraf is his playmaking ability.
As the clear top option on his team, Saraf was often blitzed on-ball and picked up full-court off-ball. When pressured, he often made impressive passes, finding the open teammate, even if they were on the weak side. This didn’t always result in an assist, but Saraf’s processing stood out.
I think Saraf will make his way up many draft boards over the coming weeks and months. Of course, there’s still plenty of time and basketball to be played before the 2025 NBA Draft . Nevertheless, Saraf is a player to keep an eye on throughout the year. He’ll play for Ratiopharm Ulm along with Essengue, another NBA Draft prospect.
This may be a jump scare for Pistons fans, but you may remember the Ulm program from one Killian Hayes. Two 2024 NBA draft picks played for Ulm in Pacôme Dadiet (No. 25 overall) and Juan Núñez (No. 36 overall).
Where it stands now, I think Saraf can become a first-round pick and should have his name in the discussion with the top international NBA prospects.
Hugo González
Height: 6’6”
Position: Guard/Wing
Birthdate: February 5, 2006
Current Team: Real Madrid (Spain)
Currently, I see González as more of a wing who plays with a super high motor that can develop into a strong off-ball shooter, whether off catch-and-shoot opportunities or creating his own shot.
He also played in the recent U18 EuroBasket tournament, like Traoré and Saraf, where he was a top option for his Spanish team along with do-it-all point guard Mario Saint-Supery. Other than that, Spain didn’t have much help, leaving the majority of the usage to their two stars.
Over Spain’s seven games in the tournament, González averaged 20.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 4.7 stocks per game. He shot just 20.8% from three on almost seven attempts per game. Perimeter shooting is an area for improvement, but González shot 92.9% from the free-throw line with Real Madrid’s senior squad last season, albeit with a minimal role and volume. If you count González’s minutes with Real Madrid’s U18 team, too, he shot 82% from the line on over two attempts per game.
At the U18 EuroBasket, he ended up in foul trouble a number of games, simply due to how hard he plays. González’s energy on the court is a huge plus to me, he’ll just need to work on reigning that in a bit over his next season and early in his NBA career to avoid playing himself out of games. He’s a strong and active defender where teams never have to worry about his compete level on that end.
González seems to be firmly within lottery range as it stands. If he can show some improvement as a perimeter shooter and play a bit more cleanly over his pre-draft season, he has the strength, athleticism and archetype to hear his name called at the top of the 2025 NBA Draft.