European Prospects Luigi Suigo, Alex Samodurov Declare for 2026 NBA Draft

The 2026 NBA Draft class continues to take shape as the event approaches.

Still around two months away from the draft, a number of potential first-round picks, like Thomas Haugh, Patrick Ngongba II and Braylon Mullins have already announced their intention to return to college.

Other prospects, like AJ Dybantsa, Caleb Wilson, Isaiah Evans and others have declared for the draft, while Tounde Yessoufou, Juke Harris, Allen Graves and more are testing the draft waters while also entering the transfer portal and considering a return to school.

The deadline for NCAA prospects to withdraw from the class is on May 27, which will give teams a clearer picture of who will be in this year's draft.

Recently, a few international prospects declared for the draft, adding a few more names to the pool.

On Wednesday, April 22, Luigi Suigo and Alex Samodurov, a pair of 7-footers, announced their intentions, with the possibility of returning to school. For international prospects, the withdrawal date is June 13.

Suigo, a 19-year-old Italian big man listed at 7-foot-3 and 240 pounds, is averaging 8.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game while shooting 56.4% from the field and 26.7% from 3-point range in 18 minutes per game across 16 contests with Mega Superbet in the Adriatic Basketball Association this season.

According to Jonathan Givony, Suigo is "heavily pursued" by a number of college programs, and holds offers from Illinois, Purdue and Indiana, per 247Sports. The coveted big man offers solid potential with a blend of youth and remarkable size, and has the chance to be a first-round pick in 2026.

After recently turning 21-years-old, Samodurov doesn't have quite the same allure as Suigo, but is still an intriguing prospect.

Listed at 7-foot-1, the Greek big man is averaging just 2.6 points per game in the EuroLeague this season playing for Panathinaikos, one of the top teams in Europe that features former NBA players like Omer Yurtseven, Kenneth Faried, Richaun Holmes, Cedi Osman and Juancho Hernangomez.

Samodurov's longest appearance of the season came in January tallied 11 points, 3 rebounds, a steal, a block and zero turnovers while shooting 4-of-4 on 2-point attempts and 1-of-3 from beyond the arc in 17 minutes on the floor.

In total, Samodurov averaged around 6 minutes on the court per game, shooting 10-of-11 on 2-point attempts in 13 appearances.

With limited action playing behind a number of seasoned veterans, Samodurov would be an upside swing for teams in the 2026 draft, but could still be an intriguing developmental addition.

Like Suigo, Samodurov could also elect to play college basketball rather than remain in this year's draft class.

Add us as a preferred source on Google