The 2025 NBA draft is coming up next week, and here at Timberwolves On SI, we're going to help you get ready with previews of each of the three major position groups. Up first are the big men.
The Timberwolves may very well be in the market for another center in this year's draft. If they were to trade Rudy Gobert, that would be an obvious and glaring need. But even in the seemingly-likely event that he remains on the roster, the Wolves could use a true backup five who can play off the bench and develop under the 33-year-old Gobert. It doesn't seem like Luka Garza will ever crack their rotation.
In our first position preview ahead of next week's draft, we're going to take a look at some of the potential big man options for the Timberwolves, who have picks 17 and 31 this year. There's some gray area when it comes to players who could be considered centers or forwards, but we're going to aim to focus on the true bigs today (which means excluding players like Collin Murray-Boyles and Rasheer Fleming).
These are the top two big men on most media draft boards. They're projected as top-ten picks, so the Wolves seem unlikely to end up with either one, barring a bold trade up the board — which can't be ruled out, considering Tim Connelly did it last year — or a surprising slide. Maluach is a 7'2" Sudan native with all kinds of defensive upside. Queen is an extremely skilled offensive center.
These guys are all generally mocked around the middle of the first round and could make sense for the Wolves if they stay put at 17.
Sorber, mocked to the Wolves by ESPN this week, is an intriguing prospect because he's coming off of a significant foot injury and thus hasn't been able to work out in the pre-draft process. At 6'10" with a huge wingspan, he's a high-upside prospect who averaged 14.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 3.5 stocks (steals and blocks combined) in 24 games as a freshman for the Hoyas. Newell is another one-and-done freshman in a similar mold to Sorber, though with less rim protection. Whether you call him a forward or a center, he's a 6'11" big with great leaping ability and soft hands.
Wolf is a completely different kind of big man. After transferring from Yale to Michigan, he took on a major creation role with the ball in his hands, serving as the Wolverines' point center for stretches. He's a skilled 7-footer who can pass, hit threes, and do other guard-like things. He wasn't exactly efficient from three and he turned the ball over too much, but the skills are there. Wolf has some Naz Reid to his game, which would make him a fascinating (but maybe redundant?) addition for Minnesota. His last name would certainly be fitting.
There are a couple intriguing French bigs in this draft who would be fun to pair with their countryman Gobert. Beringer is an 18-year-old who has spent the last two seasons playing professionally in Slovenia. He's a great athlete as a rim-runner with excellent hands, but he's also a major developmental project, having averaged just 4.7 points in 47 career games with his pro club. Beringer grew up playing soccer and only picked up basketball a few years ago. Essengue, who plays in Germany, is a bit further along in his development, but the ceiling is similar. Whether he's a four or a five, he's a fluid athlete with significant two-way potential.
Kalkbrenner was an extremely productive five-year player at Creighton, winning the Big East DPOY award four times. He racked up 399 blocks in his career (2.4 per game) and was also a high-level scorer and rebounder who upped his three-point percentage to nearly 35 last season (albeit on low volume). He's an elite rim protector at 7'1", but he may not have a massive ceiling due to his age and fairly average athleticism.
Raynaud and Niederhauser are two other intriguing bigs from the college ranks. Raynaud got better in each of his four years at Stanford and averaged 20.2 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks last season. The Frenchman also made 67 threes and is a very good free-throw shooter. He's a stretch five who faces some questions about his defensive upside. Niederhauser, a native of Switzerland, is a more traditional rim-running, rim-protecting five who has outstanding size and leaping ability. He's a fun player, but he still needs some development despite being 22 years old.
Again, we'll end with a couple international names to know. Bogi Markovic is a skilled stretch four/five who averaged 13.7 points, 6.8 boards, and 2.7 assists in Serbia last season, shooting 37 percent from deep on close to three attempts per game. He's pretty thin and might be a bit of a tweener. Then there's Yang, who worked out for the Timberwolves on Monday. A skilled 7'2" center from China, he's a fascinating prospect because of his passing ability and soft touch around the rim. He might also have some shooting potential. The concerns are around his athleticism and strength, and particularly how those things will translate on the defensive end.
These guys (among others) could be options for the Wolves if they end up acquiring a late second-round pick — or potentially as undrafted targets who could compete for a roster spot.