2025 NBA Draft International Prospect Rankings 3.0 – Part III

Part III of the final edition of our 2025 NBA Draft International Prospect rankings is here. This edition will go over the top five, which has one new, but mostly unsurprising name, in it from version two. It continues to be dominated by the French.

Bogoljub Markovic / fiba.basketbal

Part II, the top five, of the third and final edition of our 2025 NBA Draft International Prospect Rankings is here. Four names remain from the first edition, but one more has made his return to the upper echelons of this class. 

5. Nolan Traore, Guard

Team: Saint-Quentin (France - FIBA Basketball Champions League & LNB Pro A)

Nationality: France

Draft Age: 19.1

Height: 6-foot-3

Weight: 175 pounds

Wingspan: 6-foot-8

Standing Reach: 8-foot-5

Season Stats (All Competitions - per game): 22.7 minutes, 12.2 points, 1.9 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 2.5 turnovers, 41/31/71 shooting splits on 175 three-point attempts and 149 free throws. 

Highlights:

Previous Position: 11, +6

Summary: 

From big faller to big riser, Nolan Traore closed the season very strongly and somewhat reminded folks of why he was in top five discussions to start the season. The scoring efficiency has been the most notable improvement, paired with less eccentricity and more control as a primary ball handler. Watching Traore now compared to, say, November, and it truly looks like a switch flipped in his head and he finally realized he can’t just try to sprint past everyone at this level. Players are stronger and faster, and defenses are far more organized. He’s created better driving angles and made better use of floaters and short pull-ups. 

He still hasn’t done anything exceptional as a passer. He’s overall a fine decision maker and solid passer, proven by his assist-to-turnover ratio, but his reads and overall court vision are very basic. He executes what is in front of him as a passer, and that’s not good enough to start at the next level. 

4. Bogoljub Markovic, Forward

Team: KK Mega Leks (Serbia - Adriatic League)

Nationality: Serbia

Draft Age: 19.9

Height: 6-foot-10

Weight: 213 pounds

Wingspan: 6-foot-11

Standing Reach: 9-foot-2

Season Stats (All Competitions - per game): 29.2 minutes, 13.9 points, 6.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 2.7 turnovers, 0.9 blocks, 55/39/77 shooting splits on 85 three-point attempts and 136 free throws. 

Highlights:

Previous Position: 4, unchanged

Summary: 

After Traore’s leap, spoiler alert, the top five is the same here. This group established itself as the leaders of their class slightly past the midway point of the season, and there hasn’t been any reason to move them out since then. Markovic has great size and length to play the four and maybe even mix in some minutes at the five or the three in the NBA. He can score from inside and out, and he grew as a rim protector during the season. 

It is worth calling out that his shooting did dip to end the season. Teams left him open less, and there was good and bad to that. His accuracy dropped; that’s bad. But he also attacked closeouts and drew more fouls, which is good. Markovic should have first-round consideration later this month. 

3. Hansen Yang, Big

Team: Qingdao (China - CBA)

Nationality: China

Draft Age: 20

Height: 7-foot-1

Weight: 253 pounds

Wingspan: 7-foot-3

Standing Reach: 9-foot-3

Season Stats (All Competitions - per game): 33 minutes, 16.2 points, 10 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 3.1 turnovers, 2.7 blocks, 60/29/68 shooting splits on 56 three-point attempts and 251 free throws. 

Highlights:

Previous Position: 3, unchanged

Summary: 

Hansen Yang is awesome. He continues to be awesome, and was awesome at the Draft Combine. He flashed perimeter shooting and passing chops, was immovable by the opposing American bigs he faced, and made some nice defensive plays, too. The offensive upside is tantalizing, and there’s real All-Star potential in his skill set. He needs to get better at defending in space and at controlling the glass for his size, but there’s reason to believe NBA experience will help him there. Yang should be a first-round pick, and anything after that is great value. 

2. Joan Beringer, Big

Team: KK Cedevita (Slovenia - EuroCup & Adriatic League)

Nationality: France

Draft Age: 18.6

Height: 6-foot-11

Weight: 235 pounds

Wingspan: 7-foot-5

Standing Reach: 9-foot-3

Season Stats (All Competitions - per game): 18.8 minutes, 5.4 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.4 blocks, 64/0/57 shooting splits on 113 free throws. 

Highlights:

Previous Position: 2

Summary:   

Joan Beringer might be the best rim protector and defensive prospect in this class. He added muscle to his wiry frame, and truly looks like he could become an ideal defensive anchor center in the modern NBA. Capable of switching and swatting at one, and screening, rolling, and dunking at the other. He and Victor Wembanyama next to each other at future international tournaments is horrifying to think about.  

1. Noa Essengue, Forward

Team: Ratiopharm Ulm (Germany - EuroCup & Basket Bundesliga)

Nationality: France

Draft Age: 18.5

Height: 6-foot-10

Weight: 204 pounds

Wingspan: 7-foot-1

Standing Reach: 9-foot-2

Season Stats (All Competitions - per game): 23.3 minutes, 11.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.1 turnovers, 52/28/71 shooting splits on 123 three-point attempts and 282 free throws. 

Highlights:

Previous Position: 1

Summary: 

Noa Essengue has been shooting up boards and mock drafts everywhere and with good reason. He continues to dominate on both sides of the ball for Ratiopharm Ulm, he’s shooting the three and attacking off the dribble with more confidence and composure, and has even improved as a passer, including some full-court football style assists in the playoffs. Essengue is young, skilled, and athletic. He beats everyone behind him on this list in all three of those areas. The Pascal Siakam comparison no longer feels like a reach. He might be an All-NBA level player one day, and hearing his name called as high as six shouldn’t be a shock.

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