Behind the Numbers: A Deep Dive into 2025's Top International NBA Prospects (Part 1)
Tracking the highs, lows, and hidden gems in the numbers of international players on NBA radars.
Scouting international prospects for the NBA draft is uniquely challenging, with plenty of unknowns and complex factors at play. Young players often have limited minutes or play in leagues where competition varies widely, making it difficult to evaluate their full potential. Some teams may even limit exposure to protect their talent, and for teenage prospects, facing seasoned pros can be an uphill battle. In Europe, where teams prioritize winning over development, consistent opportunities for growth are often scarce—players like Nolan Traore, Noa Essengue and Ben Saraf have carved out roles, while others like Hugo Gonzalez struggle for time behind NBA-caliber veterans on win-now teams like Real Madrid.
This article takes a deep dive into the numbers behind some of the top international prospects for the 2025 NBA draft, exploring how stats reflect each player's opportunity, role, and unique development path.
Part one covers several key players in Europe, where most leagues are already in full swing, while part two will look at talent from Australia and China. Though the college season is just about to begin, these international prospects have already shown flashes of their potential in live action, offering early insights into what could be a strong international class with multiple projected lottery picks.
Nolan Traore
Saint-Quentin (France)
Point Guard
6’3” | 175
Age on draft night: 19.0
Nolan Traore is widely pegged as a top-five pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, but his early-season numbers paint a mixed picture. Through nine games, he’s putting up 12.1 points, 5.3 assists, and 1.7 rebounds per game, with shooting splits of 38% from the field, 33% from three, and 65% from the free-throw line. Those percentages suggest he's had his fair share of struggles, particularly at the rim, where he's converting just 50% of his attempts. He’s hitting 35% of his jumpers—decent, but not yet at a level you'd want for a guard with his draft stock.