Photos: fiba.basketball

Perth Wildcats Next Star Izan Almansa will look to follow in the footsteps of Alex Sarr, hoping to make an impact in the NBL before taking the leap into the NBA Draft.

The 19-year-old comes into the league with an impressive resume already, having been named as the MVP in both the Under-17 and Under-19 FIBA World Cups across 2022 and 2023.

The 208-centimetre forward/center is already considered a potential first round pick at next year’s Draft.

Touching down in Perth on Thursday, Almansa said he's hoping to replicate the feats of Sarr in boosting his stocks with a season playing at a professional level in Australia.

“I’ve talked to him (Sarr) ... he says it’s a tough league, but that I’m ready for it,” Almansa said.

“I’m excited and I think that I can do kind of like the same as what he did.

“I’m proud of him too and just happy to be here.”

Almansa is considered by many experts as the most successful youth players in history, and finished as Spain’s leading point-scorer and rebounder at last month’s Eurobasket tournament in Poland.

He finished with averages of 15.7 points and 6.9 points across seven appearances.

"It was a good tournament. I played good and got my confidence back," Almansa said.

"Now I'm happy to be here and ready to play."

The Wildcats’ newest addition for NBL25 was greeted by head coach John Rillie and assistant coach Aaron Young upon his arrival in Australia.

Now, he’s ready to get started.

"To play at the (RAC) Arena and play in front of a lot of fans and try to compete for a championship," Almansa said of his goals for this year.

"It's a really competitive league and last year the Wildcats made it through to the semi-finals."