Scouting the Top NBA Prospects at All-Star Weekend
Basketball Without Borders is back! Here are 11 NBA prospects I watched closely
SALT LAKE CITY — I was thrilled when the NBA announced Basketball Without Borders would be returning to All-Star Weekend after the premier event for international players was canceled the past two years due to Covid and travel restrictions.
Evaluating international prospects is what I enjoy most about scouting, and I’ve been bummed that I’ve been stateside all season — outside of a five-day trip to watch Victor Wembanyama in September — and have not had the opportunity to globetrot around Europe the past few months.
I spent all of last season abroad, traveling through France, Serbia, Greece, Italy and Turkey looking for the next group of international prospects with NBA potential. I absolutely love scouting international prospects and projecting how they would fare in the American grassroots system, college basketball and in the NBA.
My dream job is to run a European club with a focus on developing young prospects in a setup similar to the G League Ignite. Europe is a lot different than the NBA, as there are not a lot of developmental minutes for young prospects after a certain age. It’s common to see top prospects play limited roles at ages 18-24 in high-level European competition.
In Europe, every game counts, winning is the only thing that matters and so coaches rely heavily on veterans over younger prospects. For struggling teams, there isn’t an NBA draft or a lucky bounce of a ping-pong ball to rescue them.
Given that, Basketball without Borders provides a rare opportunity to watch players from not only Europe but also Asia, South America and Africa, all under one roof.
Here are a few of the players that stood out to me in Salt Lake City this past week:
Matas Buzelis
6’10” | 195
Lithuania
W
Buzelis showed exactly why he’s a projected first-round pick in the 2024 NBA draft, showing off his combination of size, length, ball handling and versatility in front of a large contingent of NBA scouts and executives.
If this weekend was an indicator of things to come, Buzelis will join a growing list of G League Ignite alumni to be selected in the first round. While he’s a little thin and he’ll need to add muscle to his 6’10” frame, Buzelis is competitive and unafraid of contact — he plays with energy and confidence.
Buzelis — an Illinois native representing Lithuania — was voted the camp MVP after leading his team to an undefeated record over the weekend.
Elliot Cadeau
6’1” | 175
Sweden
PG
Cadeau, a Brooklyn-born five-star recruit, was one of higher-profile names coming into the camp due to his grassroots and international background from representing Sweden.
The speedy North Carolina commit was able to get where he wanted on the floor and did a good job creating scoring opportunities for teammates.
Cadeau tested as the top athlete in the camp, posting the highest max vertical (41”) and fastest lane agility (10.31 seconds) and ¾ sprint (3.19) of all the participants.
Cadeau and Buzelis, along with France’s Killian Malwaya, led a dominant Celtics team that outscored opponents by 32.
Aday Mara
7’3” | 243
Spain
C
It was impossible to miss Mara, the tallest player in the camp — and one of the more divisive prospects in Europe.
He’s skilled, agile and coordinated and his size alone makes him an interior presence under the basket. Mara has a soft touch around the rim, is comfortable shooting out on the perimeter and is an advanced passer for his size.
However, the 17-year-old is not very physical and prefers to float outside of the paint instead of using his size and solid physical frame to his advantage.
Miro Little
6’4” | 190
Finland
PG
I had the opportunity to watch Little represent Finland and the Helsinki Basketball Academy last spring at the Adidas Next Generation tournament in Patras, Greece, so I was not surprised he was one of the standouts over the weekend.
The Baylor commit — who’s at Sunrise Christian Academy in Kansas along with Buzelis — played with a pace and maturity beyond his years.
Little was voted as a camp All-Star after leading his team to the championship game on Sunday.
Tidjane Salaun
6’9” | 203
France
W
Little’s teammate Tidjane Salaun made quite an impression over the weekend and is one of the more promising long-term prospects in Europe.
He’s still a work in progress and he’ll need to improve his shot selection — which can get a little wild at times — but overall he showcased a versatile skill set that fits the modern NBA.
Throughout the camp Salaun, who’s fairly new to organized basketball, made athletic finishes and knocked down jumpers off the dribble and off the catch.
Killian Malwaya
6’6” | 190
France
W
I have been tracking Malwaya for two years now and left Salt Lake pleased with his overall development since I last saw him in person in February 2022.
Malwaya is an incredible athlete with a nose for the basketball who’s impacted games as a blue-collar wing. But over the weekend, he looked like a totally different player, displaying newfound offensive creativity off the dribble and improved confidence in his jump shot. Defenders had difficulty staying in from of him and he made his usual highlight-reel finishes at the rim.
If his shot continues to develop along with his ball handling and guard skills, Malwaya could be the next French prospect to make the jump to the NBA after Victor Wembanyama.
Alexandros Samodurov
6’11” | 200
Greece
F
Samodurov entered the camp as one of the more intriguing players.
At this time a year ago he was unknown and had never played outside of his region in Northern Greece. Before an ankle injury limited his mobility on the opening day of the camp, Samodurov showed flashes why he’s considered the best Greek prospect since Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Samodurov is fluid and agile at 6’11 and is at his best attacking off the dribble on straight-line drives. He’s also an improving floor spacer and efficient finisher around the rim, whether it’s on rolling to the basket or on dump-offs.
Pacome Dadiet
6’8” | 210
France
W
Dadiet is one of the top European prospects born in 2005. As one of 12 players voted to the All-Star team, he opened eyes with his size, strength and shot making.
He possesses excellent size for a wing and scored in a variety of ways while also playing with energy. A high-ranking NBA front office executive asked me how familiar I was with Dadiet after seeing him make multiple effort plays that wouldn’t make the stat sheet but had an impact on the game.
Thierry Darlan
6’6 | 194
Central African Republic
W
Darlan was enjoying a breakout weekend before suffering a gruesome injury — a dislocated ankle — midway through the scrimmages on Saturday.
Darlan was mentioned as a prospect who could test the draft in 2023 before the unfortunate setback.
Churchill Abass
6’9” | 245
Nigeria
C
Abass made a name for himself with his impressive blend of strength and explosiveness. While he’s a little undersized for a center, he measured with a 7’2” wingspan and a 38-inch maximum vertical.
He powered through defenders on the low block, finished with authority above the rim, ran the floor and even showed flashes of attacking off the dribble.
Ruben Prey
6’10” | 205
Portugal
C
Prey was left off the 12-man All-Star team but remains one of the top NBA prospects in Europe.
A week prior to making the trip to Salt Lake City, Prey was named the MVP of the Adidas Next Generation Tournament, where he averaged 14 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks per game, highlighted by a 20-rebound, 7-block performance against French club Cholet.
Prey has NBA potential and could carve out a role as a rim protector and rebounding specialist, but he’ll need to get stronger and add to his offensive game.