NBA Draft: Motiejus Krivas Could Boost Stock for 2027 Draft

On Monday, Arizona announced the return of a few key players, one of which was center Motiejus Krivas.

A 7-foot-2 big, Motiejus will be coming back for his senior season with the Wildcats, having already played three seasons in Tucson and seeing a breakout junior year. He earned NBA Draft acclaim in anchoring the Wildcats’ interior en route to the Final Four, but is officially returning for a final season.

Krivas’ decision is an interesting one, coming shortly after the decisions of several others that have thinned the depth of the later first-round significantly, such as Braylon Mullins, Patrick Ngongba II, Thomas Haugh and plenty more. Still, he’ll will now have an opportunity to boost his stock ahead of a reportedly lesser 2027 NBA Draft class.

Krivas jumped from a small role to a reliable starter from his second to third season with Arizona, playing in just eight games total as a sophomore and starting in all 39 of the team’s games as a junior. On the season, he averaged 10.4 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.7 steals and 1.9 blocks, shooting 57% overall.

At 7-foot-2, Krivas’ value is tried to his size and mobility, with it aiding him as a play-finisher, but especially as a rim-protector and rebounder. His 12.9 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per 40 minutes were both among the best in the country, cementing him as a highly-effective five.

Arizona’s Motiejus Krivas exclusively blocking fellow NBA Draft hopefuls: pic.twitter.com/EmMHmoNuJb
— Derek Parker (@DParkOK) March 24, 2026

For those NBA decision-makers and scouts looking to grab him in 2027, Krivas will need to continue improving in areas he’s already thriving in: finishing plays on offense, deterring shots inside and adding in the between areas such as rebounding, screening and more.

But there’s also plenty of upside for Krivas yet to tap into.

Unlike most bigs of his size and archetype, he’s a reliable free throw shooter, capitalizing on 78% of 4.3 attempts per game. That could point to upside as a stretch big, with him having hit on 4-of-13 of his triple attempts in his junior season.

Krivas isn’t likely to be a blistering, high-volume 3-point shooter as a senior, but an improvement could certainly help to boost his stock among bigs in the class.

Krivas is already 21-years-old, making his decision a questionable one for many. But given the depth of the '26 class, and with the 2027 class reportedly not quite having as much, Krivas could very well maintain or even raise his stock next season, even accounting for age.

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