The 2025 NBA Draft is fast approaching, and there are a handful of Australians who have a realistic shot at hearing their name called.
Those Australians come in a heap of varieties, too. There's Alex Toohey and Rocco Zikarsky, both of whom spent two seasons in the NBL's Next Stars program, while Lachlan Olbrich developed as a regular rostered player in the Australian league. Then, there's Tyrese Proctor, who was a part of the Duke program that featured the consensus projected No. 1 overall pick in Cooper Flagg.
This year's draft will once again be split into two days, with coverage of the first round beginning at 9am (AEST) on Thursday. Coverage of the second round starts at 10am on Friday. Both days of draft coverage will be broadcast in Australia on ESPN.
In order to break down the Australian talent with real contention to be drafted -- their background, what NBA teams like, what the concerns are, and where they're projected -- we spoke with ESPN's draft expert Jonathan Givony, who offered his analysis ahead of the two-day event.
Alex Toohey (Sydney Kings)
Alex Toohey is a player that ticks a lot of boxes.
His measurements at the NBA Draft Combine were impressive -- 6'7 ¾" barefoot, 222.8 lbs with a 6'10 ¾" wingspan, and 8'8 ½" standing reach -- he can guard multiple positions, and we saw the bones of an effective jump-shot start to develop.
At times during his second season with the Sydney Kings, he looked exactly like that prototypical complementary wing player in the NBA, which is what head coach Brian Goorjian was openly priming him to be.
The Canberra-native averaged 10.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.5 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game over the 2024-25 NBL season, while shooting 45.2% from the field and 30.2% from beyond the three-point line. Those shooting splits brought his draft projection down from where it perhaps could have been, but the jumper is clearly redeemable, for a player who measures well and has a high IQ on both ends of the floor.
"Everybody loves his feel for the game," Givony said.
"He's a really instinctual basketball player. I think back to the first time I saw him... in 2022... he was playing point guard back then, and that's what we really loved about him.
"The shooting never quite came around, which I think is the main question. If he were a knockdown shooter -- a 40% guy -- he's a lock first round pick, there's no question; he goes in the 15-25 range. That's really what people are wondering about.
"They love his versatility on defence; he's so aware off the ball with his rotations, rotating to challenge shots at the rim, digging down for steals, getting blocks, getting rebounds, assists. He does everything really."
Toohey's stock saw an up-tick after the combine, particularly on the back of some impressive performances in the scrimmages, where he showed off his range in the two games he participated in.
The 21-year-old has had an extremely busy predraft period, basing himself in Los Angeles while doing the rounds of visits to NBA teams, where he worked out for effectively half the league.
ESPN's most recent mock draft has Toohey being selected with the 37th overall pick.
Rocco Zikarsky (Brisbane Bullets)
There's no telling what draft night will look like for Zikarsky.
That's because he's coming off a second season with the Brisbane Bullets where he wasn't afforded a heap of opportunity to show his value. The big-man averaged 4.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 0.6 blocks, in just 11.8 minutes per game.
What has NBA teams intrigued is the upside. In a vacuum, Zikarsky brings a unique frame to the table -- 7'3" barefoot, 257 lbs, with a 7'4 ¾" wingspan and 9'6 ½" standing reach -- and, over his time as a junior prospect, has demonstrated a good level of co-ordination and shot-blocking acumen. Most importantly, he'll still be 18 by draft night, so whichever team drafts him is obviously betting on that theoretical potential.
All of that is important to consider when judging Zikarsky as a draft prospect; he's not close to being a finished product, and NBA teams are smart enough to know he's unlikely to provide on-court impact in the short term.
"I just don't think his feel for the game, his processing speed, his physicality, his motor, all those things aren't there," Givony said. "Now, that makes sense. He's 18. These 7'4 guys, it takes some time, sometimes, to get there, but there's no guarantee he will get there, in terms of the way he processes the game, and rotates and is in the right spots and all that.
"His body is gonna be the big thing. Can he ever learn to sit down and cover ground better in the halfcourt? It's easier said than done, and this is what the NBA guys do, they hire the very best people from all over the world. If they can help him figure out that part of things, then he's got a chance to be really good."
ESPN's most recent mock draft has Zikarsky being selected with the 41st overall pick.
Tyrese Proctor (Duke University)
When Tyrese Proctor declared for this draft, he made it known immediately that he was all in.
It was an interesting move. The Sydney-native still had college eligibility left, so he could have, like most other declarants, just tested the waters and gathered intel before fully committing. There was a sense, though, that he'd achieved all he could at Duke; and, coming off a solid, high-efficiency season, it was reasonable to look forward to his first professional opportunity.
Proctor is a 6'6 combo guard out of Sydney's south who just completed his third season at Duke, averaging 12.4 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game, shooting a career-high 40.5% from 3PT.
"He made a big jump with his shooting," Givony said.
"He looked like a very dynamic shooter; not just hitting spotups, but attacking a closeout then stepbacks, pullup threes, punishing unders. That game in the NCAA tournament against Baylor where he made seven threes, that really stands out in your memory.
"Being 6'5 and a half, and being a great shooter, that's the skill. On top of that, he plays a very clean, mistake-free style, he's very unselfish, everybody says he's a really high-character guy. He's a guy that's not gonna hurt you. He's a guy who can come in, make shots, execute offensively; he's not a great defender but he's not a bad one. He's improved on that end. That's the sell; he's someone who can hold water for you coming off the bench."
One of the trends over this NBA postseason has been the value of bigger guards who can shoot and handle the ball, and Proctor falls into that description, and why ESPN's most recent mock draft has him being selected with the 43rd overall pick.
Something that may give NBA teams pause is his physical tools. He's 6'6, but weighed in at the combine at just 183 pounds (83 kg). According to Givony's databse, Proctor weighed in at 178 pounds (80.7 kg) in 2021, so that physical development is worth consideration.
"Being 6'6 is great, but he functionally plays a lot smaller than that because of his body," Givony said.
"That's the concern. You look at these games, they're so physical. Every screen is a moving screen; they're pushing, they're grabbing, they're holding. The pressure is so high. Those are the questions people have about Tyrese Proctor."
Lachlan Olbrich (Illawarra Hawks)
The recent rise up draft boards that Lachlan Olbrich has experienced is extremely impressive, but shouldn't be all that surprising.
The 21-year-old entered his predraft process coming off an NBL Championship with the Illawarra Hawks, where he played a significant role in the title-clinching Game 5. He earned an invite to the G-League Elite Camp and dominated, which then saw him get a call-up to the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago. He went and played extremely well in that setting, too.
Olbrich is a 6'10 big-man who has great mobility for his size, impressive touch around the rim, underrated passing, and an effective -- albeit funky and awkward at times -- post game. He's coming off his second professional season, with the Illawarra Hawks, having averaged 8.4 points and 3.8 rebounds per game over the regular season and playoffs for Justin Tatum's team.
"[It's] just how hard he plays," Givony said on what he likes most about Olbrich.
"He led the combine in rebounding -- 11 per game -- and by a huge margin. He grabbed a rebound every two minutes he was on the floor. He scored 14 points a game. Every stat leaderboard, he's basically at the top: PER, field goal percentage, rebound percentage, offensive rebounds. He was just everywhere.
"Skill level, it's unique. It's not like a traditional skill level, in terms of his shooting. But, he's got all the old man tricks: the way he grabs rebounds and busts out and takes the ball coast to coast, playing off two, jumpstop, pivot, reverse, left hand, right hand, he's a fun player. He knows how to draw fouls, he's a very good passer.
"He's a fun player, man, but you just wonder if he's a little bit stuck between positions. A 6'11 wingspan so, it's like, he doesn't have any length and is only 230 pounds. He doesn't really block shots, so you're wondering: who is he gonna guard at the NBA level? Can he make shots?
"It's gonna be a work in progress for him, and that's gonna be a big thing for him, because I do think a guy like him: how does he score in the NBA, because he's probably not going to be a lockdown defender. What gets him on the court is a question a lot of people have."
What Olbrich has that most players in this draft don't is the demonstration of his effectiveness at the professional level, and in high stakes moments. With his Hawks down 2-1 in a best-of-five Championship Series, the Adelaide-native stepped up in the absence of star big-man Sam Froling, posting 13 points, six rebounds, and three assists to keep his season alive.
In the ensuing do-or-die Game 5, Olbrich had 12 points, four rebounds, and three assists to help guide the Hawks to a title.
"[NBA teams] put a lot of stock into that," Givony said.
"The NBL is a very high-level competition, and for a guy who's 20-21 years old to be able to step into those kinds of games, against the other best team in the league, and produce; that's very impressive. I think that means a lot. I think that helped him quite a bit."
ESPN's most recent mock draft has Olbrich being selected with the 50th overall pick.