The international draft prospect pool has received official announcements concerning some of the top players. Noa Essengue, Joan Beringer, Hugo Gonzalez, Nolan Traore, Ben Saraf, Noah Penda, Hansen Yang, Alex Toohey, Bogoljub Markovic, Rocco Zikarsky, Dink Pate, Izan Almansa, Saliou Niang, Mohamed Diawara, and Eli Ndiaye are all staying in the 2025 NBA draft, reports ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (via Twitter).
That player group represents 15 of the 16 international players ranked in the ESPN’s Top-100 prospect board, with Essengue the highest-ranked prospect at nine, and Ndiaye the lowest at 97. The lone ranked prospect to withdraw from the draft was Neoklis Avdalas, ranked 51.
With a bigger-than-usual amount of lower-ranked NCAA prospects returning to school thanks to NIL deals, the international class has a chance to gain ground with strong pre-draft showings. Essengue, in particular, has seen his draft stock rise following a strong playoff run for Ratiopharm Ulm.