The 2025 NBA Draft cycle is underway, with international players beginning their preseason and college players set to return to college before the NCAA tournament begins.

The NBL Blitz, the Australian league’s pre-season tournament, will begin on September 7 and will feature Nets general manager Sean Marks apparently be present, according to ESPN’s Olgun Uluc. Last season, more than 40 scouts were in attendance at the Gold Coast event, headlined by eventual No. 2 pick Alexandre Sarr.

With the Nets currently the favorites to grab the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 draft, here are a few prospects Brooklyn will be keeping a close eye on during the NBL Blitz.

If Sarr was the last name to reign supreme on the Blitz roster, then Rocco Zikarsky is a young, promising prospect to watch in the NBL this season.

The 7-foot-3 Australian centre is in the second season of his Next Stars development contract with the Brisbane Bullets. Zikarsky played sparingly last season (seven minutes per game in 27 games, according to RealGM), spending a lot of time under former NBA player Aron Baynes, but he showed he could play on both teams.

Zikarsky is a huge presence in the paint, but he also moves impressively all over the court. The 18-year-old big man is the son of 6-foot-10 Olympic swimmer Björn Zikarsky and 6-foot-1-inch Australian ironwoman champion Kylie Zikarsky, hence his athleticism and size. Defensively, he’s still more of a drop-big guy, but he’s not stiff.

After a year of development in the NBL and a few roster changes that should give Zikarsky more playing time with the Bullets, expect his role to grow exponentially. If the Australian can match his level of production in the minors, he’ll be a sure bet for a lottery pick — if not higher.

Izan Almansa was one of the hottest names at the start of the 2024 NBA Draft cycle, but his name has fallen from favor following a difficult season at G League Ignite.

Almansa opted not to enter the 2024 draft and instead signed with the NBL’s Next Stars program to join the Perth Wildcats.

The Spanish player remains one of FIBA’s best junior players — named MVP of the 2023 U-19 World Cup, MVP of the 2022 U-17 World Cup and MVP of the 2022 U-18 European Championship — but his dominance hasn’t translated to the senior level.

Almansa is undersized for a five-man, at around 6-foot-10, but he’s not versatile enough to play as a four-man unless in a very specific context that likely won’t exist for him. His athleticism has improved significantly since arriving in the States in 2021, but it’s still average at best. The Murcia-born player reads the game well, but isn’t good enough with the ball in his hands to stretch the floor or consistently play for others.

The Overtime Elite alum enters the 2025 NBA Draft cycle as a name to watch in the mid- to late-second round, but Almansa could draw renewed interest if he performs as well in the paint as he did before joining the G League.

Malique Lewis is another former G League prospect trying his hand in Australia.

Lewis played for Mexico City Capitanes last season after leaving Fuenlabrada in Spain. He had a relatively solid season, averaging nine points on 37.7% from three in about 28 minutes per game. The 19-year-old winger’s performances in Mexico made him a draft prospect this summer, even ranking as one of the better players in NBA G League Elite Campbefore he pulled out to focus on 2025.

Now that he has signed with the South East Melbourne Phoenix, the hope for Lewis will have to be more eyes against better competition. Even if his production remains similar in the NBL, it will probably be enough to secure him a spot in the second round.

The Trinidad and Tobago native has the positional size NBA teams are looking for, can be effective with few touches and has slowly improved year after year. Lewis shouldn’t be overlooked.

Alex Toohey returns for a second season of his Next Stars experience, and the 6-foot-7 forward has a real chance at an NBA career. The Sydney Kings prospect was originally headed to Gonzaga two seasons ago before committing to staying home in the NBL with the Sydney Kings.

Last year, Toohey averaged eight points and four rebounds while playing in 25 of Sydney’s 29 games. He played about 22 minutes per game.

Toohey should be considered a 3-and-D prospect. He’s already very competitive defensively, and Sydney used him in a 1-for-4 rotation last season. The Australian winger’s frame needs to continue to develop, but he’s a league-level athlete in terms of size and dimension. However, Toohey’s finishing on the move has been inconsistent at the moment.

Shooting the ball better is what’s currently holding Toohey back from becoming a sure-fire NBA prospect. He finished his first NBL season with a very low 25.4 percent from three and seemed to lose confidence in his long-range shots as the season progressed.

Ben Henshall attracted some attention following last year’s NBL Blitz, when he was a relatively unknown name fresh out of the renowned Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence.

Henshall is a nervous defender who plays at a very interesting pace. He is not explosive vertically or horizontally, but Henshall knows how to keep defenders off balance and finish them off with his above-average size in the basket.

Henshall played just 97 minutes total for the Perth Wildcats last season, but has since taken on a much larger role with the New Zealand league’s Otago Nuggets, averaging 19.9 points in 33.9 minutes per game.

Henshall’s time in New Zealand was a reminder of his flashes of self-creation with step-backs from three or pull-ups off the bounce, something he had previously shown at lower levels against weaker competition, but had never had the chance to try it in the NBL.

If Henshall can do that, he will become a shooting guard that Australian basketball has not had much of in recent years and will be worth considering in the second round of the draft.

Lachlan Olbrich has made a huge impact everywhere he has played, except in the NBL.

Olbrich will also be entering his second season in the NBL and will be 20 by December, despite making a handful of appearances on the road over the past few years.

Olbrich, who comes from a basketball family, signed his first contract with the NBL’s Adelaide 36ers in October 2021 as a development player (not a Next Star). After that season ended, Olbrich played in the NBL1 Central and was named the competition’s Under-23 player of the year.

He then committed to play college basketball at UC Riverside, where he was named Big West Freshman of the Year. After a year in the United States, Olbrich returned to Australia on a three-year contract with the Illawarra Hawks.

Like Henshall, Olbrich had an impressive blitz last year, but it didn’t translate into the regular season. After the NBL ended, the Australian forward joined the Canterbury Rams of the New Zealand League, where he was ridiculously impressive. In 20 games, he averaged 20.6 points, 12.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists and one block.

Olbrich’s skill set is suited to the modern NBA. A few years ago, he would have been considered a 4/5-man tweener, but now he’s a more talented forward who can really rebound and play physicality, but he’s also comfortable shooting the ball or making quick decisions.

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