The evidence keeps trickling in.
The Oklahoma City Thunder, like the Cavaliers, Celtics, Knicks, Mavericks, Bucks and other teams in the last couple of years, have used two big men lineups on the floor — 7-foot center Isaiah Hartenstein and 7-1 forward Chet Holmgren — to great impact. Small-ball lineups still dominate the NBA game, but size matters, more and more, and especially in the postseason.
Part of it is evolution. More bigs come into the game such as Cleveland’s Evan Mobley, who can handle and pass as well as score, and was given the keys to the Cavaliers’ offensive car this season by first-year head coach Kenny Atkinson. A big who can initiate offense like Mobley is a godsend to teams that can see their star guards stymied by hard shows on pick-and-rolls, or otherwise taken out of rhythm. Cleveland ripped off a 64-win regular season, as Mobley unlocked all of the features of his game, while also anchoring Cleveland’s top-five defense with center Jarrett Allen. Similarly talented bigs like Bam Adebayo in Miami can draw defenses their way.
This year’s NBA draft features a number of bigs who have a plethora of offensive skills. And some still bother to block a shot or two. Like Duke freshman Khaman Maluach, who’s rising rapidly up draft boards in the last days before the draft. Whatever your preference. They haven’t been played off the floor yet.
Once again, I make no bones about the fact that this is the NBA version of my NFL colleague Bruce Feldman’s annual NFL Draft Confidential. As that work pairs perfectly with Dane Brugler’s monster NFL draft preview, The Beast, I hope my contributions serve as a complement to Sam Vecenie’s exhaustive annual NBA Draft Guide. Sam is the first and last word on NBA prospects, having scouted and/or seen almost everyone over the last couple of years.
But I have spent some time on this. I’ve spent the last two-plus months talking with nearly three dozen college head and assistant coaches, NBA executives, scouts and other personnel types who’ve all either seen or coached against most of this year’s crop. (I try not to ask coaches about their own players, because it’s often hard for them to give me a real and objective evaluation of their own guys.)
In exchange for anonymity, they tell me the truth, both good and bad, about what they think about the players.
As ever, this is not a mock draft. Really, it’s not even a “Big Board.” And, I didn’t ask about every single player that’s in every single mock. I have to cut this off somewhere. I know Florida guard Alijah Martin has a chance to be taken, for example. He’s a hell of a defensive player. But I don’t know that you’d read 10,000 words apiece on all of the guards, wings and bigs who could possibly be taken. So I made some decisions. But, there’s still plenty to chew on here. Have at it!
Center of attention
It’s hard to teach 7-foot-1, 253 pounds, and 75 percent from the floor on 2-pointers. And being a vital part of a Final Four team. And being just 18 years old. Cooper Flagg got most of the attention at Duke this past season, but Maluach certainly didn’t disappoint, either, after coming out of the NBA Academy Africa from South Sudan, playing in the Basketball Africa League and playing on South Sudan’s men’s team — at 17 years old — as it clinched its first-ever Olympic tournament berth last summer. South Sudan then nearly shocked the world in a one-point exhibition loss to the U.S. men in London, with Maluach scoring seven points off the bench, before South Sudan beat Puerto Rico in the opening round of the Games.
At Duke, Maluach was named to the ACC All-Freshman Team, averaging 8.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.3 blocks on 71.2 percent shooting from the field in 39 games. He ranked sixth in the country in offensive rebound percentage (16.5) and 2-point percentage (75.4). There’s a reason the Spurs, per league sources, have already had him in twice for pre-draft visits. It’s not likely San Antonio would take him with its No. 2 overall pick, but the Spurs certainly know that they’ll probably need to secure a second top-10 pick to have a real chance at taking him. Maybe top five.
Khaman Maluach | 7-1 big | 18 years old | Duke
College head coach No. 1 (his team played Duke): I actually think he has the biggest upside of anybody in the draft. … He’s huge. And he’s long. He’s a good athlete. And I think he has natural defensive instincts. He shoots the ball better than I think, maybe, he was able to show this year. He’s a live body. He’s enthusiastic about playing. It seems he loves the process, is not afraid of it. He’s competitive. He’s not afraid. He’s ready to mix it up if he needs to. His length, size and athleticism, and then when you add those other things, I think the only thing that could stop him is injury.
Western Conference executive No. 1: Guys like him are only in one place for 11 to 13 years, and they’re starters. What’s the worst scenario he could be? Clint Capela? If you watched him in FIBA, offensively, it’s two completely different talents than he showed at Duke. In FIBA, he’s shooting 3s. At Duke … no. But there were a couple of times where he did do it and you’re like, ah, that’s what I saw at FIBA. He plays hard. He seems like a great kid. Rebounds. And Duke bigs — (Dereck) Lively was undervalued, and he’s turned out to be damned good. Mark Williams. The general manager who has enough (guts) to take him earlier than Tre, maybe even Edgecombe, I could see him being the under the radar (pick) that nobody’s really pinpointing to maybe screw up the (draft) order a little bit.
College assistant coach No. 1 (his team played Duke): I got up next to the kid. He’s huge. And he’s untapped. He’s got a world of potential. He goes after everything. He rebounds. And offensively, he’s untapped.
Few big men have as much in their offensive quiver as Maryland’s freshman Derik Queen, who was Big 10 Rookie of the Year and a first-team all-conference selection. The 6-9 power forward can pass and score – sometimes, with his team’s season on the line. Where he goes next week is up in the air, though; he’s all over the place from the mid- to late Lottery. South Carolina’s Collin Murray-Boyles turns heads at the other end of the floor, as one of the best defenders in the country, with just enough offense to not get played off the floor. Georgetown center Thomas Sorber missed a large chunk of the Hoyas’ season with an injury, but he showed substantial two-way potential in his one season on the Hilltop, and his Green Room invite this week only solidifies the growing belief he’ll be a top-20 pick. Right alongside him may be Georgia freshman Asa Newell, whose game puts some in mind of Obi Toppin when he turned two great years at Dayton into a top-10 draft selection, and Michigan junior Danny Wolf, an all-Big 10 selection who almost averaged a double-double (13.2 ppg, 9.7 rpg) for the Wolverines.
Derik Queen | 6-9 big | 20 years old | Maryland
Eastern Conference executive No. 1: I’ve been telling our guys, you watch him before the games, and he (seems) lackadaisical. He doesn’t show a serious side. And that’s a turnoff to some people. I’m like, think of Naz Reid when he was at LSU. It was the same damn thing. The games never get too big for (Queen).
College assistant coach No. 2 (his team played Maryland): The skill is real. The knowledge of the game, and how to get to where he needs to go, crafty, is a real thing. He’s not jumping over a phone book. I worry about, can he guard? Who he’s going to guard is my question. I don’t worry about him at all on offense. But I don’t think he can guard fives. I don’t think he’s great in pick-and-roll defense, and I don’t think he can move well enough laterally to guard Giannis and Michael Porter Jr., these scorers. He tries on defense, I think. I just don’t think he moves well enough for it to be as good as it needs to be if he’s not going to be a guy who’s going to be super efficient on offense.
I like him a lot (though). He can pass. He’s a willing passer. He actually wants to pass. He can really see the floor. He can survey. He can get to his spot. He can make a shot off both feet. He can knock you off balance. He can get to the free-throw line. He’s a good rebounder. There’s a lot to like. The defensive part is where I have questions. Who’s he guarding? Can he guard (Mikal) Bridges? Can he guard Josh Hart? Can he guard Stew (Isaiah Stewart), the next tier of guys who aren’t the primary offensive option, but they know how to cut, how to go to the glass?
College assistant coach No. 3 (his team played Maryland): I am not a Derik Queen guy. He can’t shoot. Look at his 3-point percentage and number of attempts. I don’t know who he’s going to guard. Very skilled with the ball, because he’s got great hands. Good from 15 feet on in. Doesn’t run fast or hard. But he hardly took any 3s. And the way the NBA game is right now, what are you gonna do? But he’s a great rebounder.
Western Conference scout No. 1: Nice kid. Heavy emphasis on kid. We interviewed him, and he’s 19 going on 14. He can do one thing: he can score. But you don’t want to have to rely on a rookie scoring for you to contribute.
Collin Murray-Boyles | 6-7 forward/big | 20 years old | South Carolina
College assistant coach No. 4 (his team played South Carolina): I would say I love his game. He was a little bit like Draymond (Green), similar size. Great passer in the short roll. You couldn’t double him because he’d make you pay. Just really hard to guard. Analytically, I had that scout. He was shooting a crazy percentage within three feet of the basket. He shoots such a high percentage and no one can really stop him from getting that close. He’s such a good dribbler and he’s so strong. It just makes him unique. He shot 62 from two on the year. The midrange kind of drew it down a little bit, but when he got close, the ball’s going in, or he’s getting to the free throw line. That, combined with the passing … and the rebounding is elite.
He’s so quick, and has such a good feel for where the ball’s going. There’s some awesome plays, some great defensive plays, where most guys would get a deflection, he’d just catch the ball. They’d throw it right to his hands, and it just, like, sticks. The shooting is the biggest question, but I think he has everything else. … He seems like he’s a great kid, even though they were struggling. He was playing really hard.
College head coach No. 2 (his team played South Carolina): He was a handful. The thing I worry about with him is we didn’t guard him on the perimeter. He’s undersized. If you’re undersized in the NBA, you’ve got to be able to shoot. I look at a guy like Draymond, who could shoot in college. I don’t know if he’ll ever be a respectable enough shooter where you have to guard him. Back in the day, guys used to work to get NBA money. Now they already get NBA money. So I don’t know how hard he’s going to work at shooting. If I’m making $2 million and I’m at South Carolina, I ain’t worrying about shooting. But we couldn’t keep him off the glass. He’s physical. He knows how to score around the rim.
College assistant coach No. 5 (his team played South Carolina): He’s really good positionally, and he’s so strong. So you can never get to your spots. Rebounds. I think the thing is his strength. It’s hard for you to get to where you want to get to. Just trying to get to your plays, he holds you, and he’s so strong. They hedged. He hedges extremely hard, so it makes it hard for you to turn the corner. He does a great job of being able to hard hedge and get back to his guy. They did drop and level at times. But he was more of a hedge guy. He’s got good feet. Very long arms, too, so it’s very hard to throw over the top. He could potentially guard at three, but as far as playing the three, his handle and shot, he’s not there. Obviously, he defends extremely well. He walls up at the rim when you try to score over him. His shooting is not good. But him going over that right shoulder, he’s money down low.
Thomas Sorber | 6-9 big | 19 years old | Georgetown
College assistant coach No. 6 (his team played Georgetown): He’s not terribly tall. I thought, for a young big guy, his motor was incredible. A lot of times, young big guys don’t play quite hard enough. He had a grown man’s motor as a freshman. You look at his face, you can tell he was a baby; he has the braces. He’s so young. But he plays hard. Great face-up game. But I was impressed with his motor. Against us, we were fronting, he had a catch and finish like, holy s—. He’s talented. I think he has the touch to kind of extend his range out. He’s a pretty good jump shooter. He just shot 15-footers, face-ups and that kind of stuff. I think he’s got the touch to be able to extend his range. To be able to play that hard, and if he can shoot it some, I like his progression. That’s something he’ll have to work on. But I don’t think he’s far off from what his NBA game, or style should be – a hard-playing four who can stretch it.
He’s not a center at the next level. He’s not a 7-foot monster like some of those guys are. He battles in the post. … He’s not a true center. I don’t think he can guard a (Nikola) Jokić. He can guard Myles Turner, probably. But not the bigger centers. Defensively, he contested shots. He was good in ball screens. They did some zone, they did some switching. The effort was there. His motor was real, his talent was real.
College assistant coach No. 7: He played in, what, 20 games, 23 games, before he got hurt? He’s got a chance to be really good. He’s really skilled. Thinks the game. But he’s got a lot of stuff to work on. … He’s a good athlete, but he’s not a great athlete. He reminds me of a David West type, eventually. David could pass, he was pretty skilled, smart.
Asa Newell | 6-9 forward/big | 19 years old | Georgia
Eastern Conference executive No. 1: He’s long. He’ll shoot the 3, and sometimes shoots it when he shouldn’t. But there’s an upside that I like there. (Obi) Toppin’s a little better athlete, but Newell’s longer. There’s a point of interest with him.
College assistant coach No. 4 (his team played Georgia): I was surprised he was able to score the way he did in the SEC, just based on what he did at Montverde. When he was younger, there were times when he really struggled to score. He would catch the ball and just look a little awkward. They did an amazing job with him, to do what he did. He would get some easy ones that he probably won’t get at the next level, like rim runs or transition; that kind of drove his percentages up. I do feel like he made a jump scoring the ball. He would let it fly. When he was open, he would shoot it. He didn’t turn many down. Didn’t shoot it great from 3, but I don’t think he took many bad ones. …Really nice kid, worker. I think he has a chance to make a jump because of who he is, in terms of work ethic and attitude.
College assistant coach No. 5 (his team played Georgia): I don’t know if he was great against us, but with his length, he’s so long, and he offensive rebounds so well, and he’s a lob threat. He gets fouled. Lefty, moves well, can run down the floor extremely well. Incredible on the glass.
Danny Wolf | 6-11 big | 21 years old | Michigan
Eastern Conference executive No. 2: If you’re a fan, you think this is the next Kelly Olynyk. He can think the game, he can pass, he can shoot some. My problem with him is he’s (6-11) and he’s physical, and he plays like he’s 6-6. He does up-and-unders instead of just going over guys. He wants to pass and make plays. It would be one thing if he was a great shooter. He’s not a great shooter.
College assistant coach No. 3 (his team played Michigan): What they want you to do is drop coverage where he and (Vladislav) Golden can do screen and roll at the elbow. Look at his turnovers. He’s a very high turnover machine, because he can’t go left very well. He can shoot 3s, so that does translate. He can bring it up as a five. He told Michigan I won’t come there if you make me play five. He didn’t want to guard fives in college. He did, five-10 minutes a game, but they had Golden. In order for him to be a mismatch, he’s got to play the five in the NBA. He is a late developer. He’s much better than he was two or three years ago.
Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner could be a solid pick for an NBA team. “Sometimes, you just need competence. You don’t need another star.” (Jordan Prather / Imagn Images)
Multiple bigs could get into the back end of the first round. French center Joan Beringer is one of the youngest guys in the draft — he just turned 18 last November — but held his own this season playing for Cedevita in the Adriatic League. The Celtics, among other teams with late first-round picks, have had Creighton senior center Ryan Kalkbrenner in for a workout. Stanford’s Maxime Reynaud was an All-ACC selection (still weird to type “Stanford” and “ACC” in the same sentence) who played well in Chicago at the predraft combine. Penn State junior Yanic Konan Niederhauser made an impression late in the season for the Nittany Lions, and stands to be one of the most impactful Penn State big men hoopers since the days of John Amaechi and Frank Brickowski.
Joan Beringer | 6-11 big | 18 years old | Cedevita
Eastern Conference executive No. 3: Very, very new to the game. Big (kid). Light on his feet. Shot blocker. High motor. The offensive part is gonna be a wait. Right now, he’s a vertical spacer, lob catcher. Just dunks everything around the rim. He’s only been competitively playing the last five years. …It’s been good for him to leave France and get away from that sort of thing, and now he’s in Slovenia. Perfect work conditions. Lives two or three blocks from the gym. Someone might (take) him in the teens. Really, his talent level, he’s supposed to be a late 20s guy, maybe mid-20s guy, just with his inexperience. But a big body, live body. You’re going to hear from him. Offensively, he’s a ways away. But he does have decent instincts.
Eastern Conference executive No. 2: Saw him last year at the Under-18s in Finland. Still very raw. But he’s come a long way from where he was last year. If you think about Jarrett Allen in college, and just how raw he was, that’s what he reminds me of. If you’re a fan of his, that’s how you have to project him. Just started playing two or three years ago. Good pick and roll defense. There’s not a lot there (offensively). You throw it at the rim and he catches it.
Western Conference executive No. 2: Raw, young, rim protector and rebounding will keep him around. Solid motor. That kid is a dog, man. He’s a horse. He just works all the time. He’s just starting to play. Whoever gets him is going to have rim protection, rebounder. And he asks questions. Very smart kid. His hands aren’t really the greatest, but he can catch the ball in the dunker’s spot.
Ryan Kalkbrenner | 7-1 big | 23 years old | Creighton
College assistant coach No. 7 (his team played Creighton): I like him. It’s tough, because defensively, and I know he kept winning Defensive Player of the Year, but he never left the paint. He changed shots around the basket. I think his offensive game got better. I don’t think he’s the athlete, mobility guy, that Zach Edey is. But it’s legit size. You just can’t bypass that. Their system — now maybe, he can do more than he was able to show, based on how they utilized him in their system. He was basically a screen roll guy. But you never really were able to see what he had in his bag. Edey has a little edge to him. I’m not sure Ryan has that.
Western Conference scout No. 1: He’s big as s—, long as f—. Standing reach over nine feet. His interview was spectacular in Chicago. Really bright dude; really smart man. It’s hard not to like him. And he’s a five-year guy. He’s a drop coverage guy, which is fine. But he’s a Jakob Poeltl type. He’s got some bulk. Three blocks a game this year and three blocks a game last year. Sometimes, you just need competence. You don’t need another star.
Maxime Raynaud | 7-0 center | 22 years old | Stanford
Western Conference scout No. 2: Somebody’s gonna get a star in him. Got better each year. A good team is gonna get him, and people are gonna be ‘How did they get him?’ He’s got to get stronger, but he can post up, he can pass, he’s got the jump hooks, both hands. Turnaround J. He can step out and shoot 3s. And he can put it on the floor. (Donovan) Clingan went seven (in last year’s draft). Zach Edey went nine. Other than (Edey) being bigger, (Raynaud’s) more skilled than both of them put together.
Western Conference scout No. 1: Hates to be touched. In the playoffs, the way they let you play, you’ve got to get used to a bit of manhandling. Has some talent. He’s like Luke Kornet. Could shoot the ball, great hands, but hated to be touched. He had to learn. Took him a while, but now he’s a serviceable player. (Raynaud’s) better than Kornet, but he’s going to have to find somebody who values his finesse.
Yanic Konan Niederhauser | 6-11 big | 22 years old | Penn State
College head coach No. 3 (his team played Penn State): Love his upside. Should get better and better. Could turn into Kel’el Ware or even be better. Needs to get strong. Needs to continue to improve his ball skills. Other than this past season has lacked playing against high-level competition but has high upside.
Eastern Conference executive No. 3: Raw. But size and athleticism, he’s got all that. It’s an elite combination. He’s just learning how to play. The downside is he didn’t rebound. He should have been getting an easy 12 rebounds a game. You’re just betting that he’s going to learn and get better at that stuff.
Western Conference scout No. 1: He’s a workout warrior. Came to the combine and blew out the numbers. But when I went to see him play … he wasn’t interested in playing at all. He played against the big kid at Oregon (Nate Bittle). He didn’t show up to play. His numbers show that consistent inconsistency. Now, other people have seen him. But all of a sudden, he’s a hot name because of what he did at the combine. But, still, at his worst, he’s Mitchell Robinson. And at his best, he could be a lot better than that.
Auburn’s Johni Broome absolutely maxed out as a super senior for the Tigers, winning SEC Player of the Year honors and leading Auburn to the Final Four and a top-five spot all season. But, it’s more likely than not that he’ll have to stick as a second-round pick. Serbian forward Bogoljub Marković was named Top Prospect in the Adriatic League this past season, shooting nearly 39 percent on 3s for Mega Basket. The 2024 winner of the award, guard Nikola Topić, was Oklahoma City’s first-round pick (12th overall) last year; Heat forward and 2022 first-rounder Nikola Jović took the honors three years ago.
Kentucky’s Amari Williams came to Lexington after four years at Drexel and finished second in the SEC in rebounds (8.5 per game). China’s Hansen Yang is ready to make the leap to the NBA after playing for the Qingdao Eagles in the Chinese Basketball Association this past season. So is 18-year-old Australian Rocco Zikarsky, whose massive (7-3) size could get him a late second-round look after a couple of years playing for the Brisbane Bullets in the NBL. Zikarsky was also in the NBL’s Next Stars program this season with fellow 2025 potential draftees Izan Almansa and Alex Toohey; NBA alumni who were in Next Stars on their way to the league include LaMelo Ball, Josh Giddey and Alexandre Sarr.
Johni Broome | 6-9 big | 22 years old | Auburn
College assistant coach No. 4 (his team played Auburn): Almost looks like he’s not playing that hard because he’s so good. He was, you’re trying to get him to catch the ball as far away as possible because he’s such a great dribbler. He’s a great passer, especially with his back to the basket. … With Broome, you couldn’t double him. You have to play him one-on-one. You’re trying to sit on his right shoulder so hard, but it’s so good, he could still get to it, somehow. You’re yelling at your guys, but it was impossible to stop him from getting to that right shoulder. Amazing rebounder. Defensively, he might struggle a little bit. …but the game is so easy for him. He was a five in the SEC defensively. They played (Dylan) Cardwell, too, both those guys together, but with Broome, he’s a little more of a natural drop guy. They had to get him out there to try and impact the ball more. I don’t know if, when he gets to the league, I don’t know if he can really switch. He’s going to have to rely on ball screen coverage to keep himself on the guy he’s guarding.
College assistant coach No. 8 (his team played Auburn): From the waist up, Johni is a great athlete. From the waist down, he’s suspect. He’s got incredible timing. He gets the ball at its peak. And he’s got soft hands. Unbelievable hands. Anything in his area, he comes up with it. Not much vertical. … I think he competes, and I think this is true of a lot of guys. Very few guys compete in a lot of context areas of the game. They’ll compete in different areas of the game. Broome competes on the backboard. He competes in the paint. And he made himself a much better 3-point shooter. He can really pass, he can really play. But he doesn’t want to guard anybody. He’s not rushing up to a ball screen. Bruce (Pearl) is great at getting guys to play to their strengths. My worry is, unless you play drop, he doesn’t have great feet, and he’s not really competitive in that context of the game. How much would it piss him off to sit?
Bogoljub Markovic | 6-11 big | 19 years old | Mega
Western Conference executive No. 3: He’s talented. Very skilled. His body’s got to fill out. Somebody with multiple picks is going to take him. He’s very skilled. You have to bring him (over). If you stash him, you’re going to lose him. He’s a good player. Long, athletic, can pass. He’s got a chance.
Western Conference executive No. 4: He didn’t shoot the ball well this year. They moved up in competition. He’s kind of young and frail. But you’re betting on the shot coming up and the body coming up. And when he played in the Hoop Summit in ’24, he was easily a top-10 player in that.
Amari Williams | 6-11 big | 23 years old | Kentucky
College assistant coach No. 4 (his team played Kentucky): (Kentucky) obviously had, Lamont Butler got hurt, so they lost their point guard. They actually were running offense through (Williams) to relieve pressure. They ran some zoom action through him. He helped get them through in a pinch. Great size. Moves well. Obviously not a 3-point threat. But around the rim, he’s got good touch. Switching, he’s not a great defender in ball screens. But he can protect the rim. They were in drop coverage a lot, and they iced. He was fine. He can move his feet. But you don’t want him guarding guards.
Hansen Yang | 7-1 big | 20 years old | Qingdao
Western Conference executive No. 3: He’s got good hands. When he came to Chicago, he wasn’t in shape. He shut down. He’s not a guy that’s going to run up and down. He’s like (Joel) Embiid. He’s going to be trailing. But he’s got skills. If Berenger had his skills, he’d be a top-five pick. But he’s slow. Berenger is fast as hell, but he’s limited.
Rocco Zikarsky | 7-3 big | 18 years old | Brisbane Bullets
Western Conference executive No. 4: There’s not a lot to go on. The numbers (in Brisbane) weren’t staggering. But his size, and he’s young and he blocks shots – you’re betting on that. These big foreigners, you have to expend a pick on them. You’re not getting them in the G League. And you don’t lose the value of those guys (if they stay overseas for a year or two after getting drafted) because you keep their rights.
Eastern Conference executive No. 3: He was supposed to be the prize of the class. Even if he keeps his name in, he probably goes late second round. He just hasn’t done enough to warrant a first-round pick. And with bigs and injuries, they want to see proof of life. I don’t want to see some big guy that’s been hurt half the season, and is now pushing himself into the draft.
(Illustration: Will Tullos / The Athletic; Photos: Jared C. Tilton, Michael Allio, Todd Kirkland / Getty Images)
