Fourth Next Star declares NBA intent

ESPN’s Jonathan Givony has announced that NBL Next Star Rocco Zikarsky has declared for the 2025 NBA Draft.

The big man from Queensland is coming off two NBL campaigns with his hometown club, the Brisbane Bullets. He has shown exciting signs of his verticality and shot-blocking in NBL25, and a great touch around the rim — with growing confidence in his perimeter shooting too. 

Zikarsky has already suited up for the Boomers in FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers, and is scheduled to suit up for the Emus in the upcoming FIBA U19 World Cup in Switzerland later this off-season. Last year, he was named tournament MVP at the prestigious Albert Schweitzer Cup in Germany, as he dominated the gold medal game with 20 points and 9 rebounds. 

Nine Next Stars have been drafted directly from the NBL to the NBA - LaMelo Ball (pick 3, 2020), RJ Hampton (pick 24, 2020), Josh Giddey (pick 6, 2021), Ousmane Dieng (pick 11, 2022), Rayan Rupert (pick 43, 2023), Alex Sarr (pick 2, 2024), AJ Johnson (pick 23, 2024), Bobi Klintman (pick 37, 2024) and Ariel Hukporti (pick 58, 2024). Impressively, the program has produced six first round picks across the past five NBA Drafts.