While the NBL25 season is nearing its end, the 2025 NBA Draft is still six months away but the excitement from the basketball world is picking up to discover the upcoming prospects that will ball out in the NBA in the near future. Now eight weeks into the college basketball season, ESPN has decided to publish a new version of their Mock Draft. 

All four Next Stars eligible for the 2025 NBA Draft (Karim Lopez is eligible from the 2026 event) were featured in the list, a major indicator of the development they have shown during the NBL25 season. 

Alex Toohey, off the back of his great performances with the Sydney Kings over December, has cemented his status as an elite wing prospect, being ranked #32 by Givony and Woo. The 20-year-old now leads the entire NBL in STL% (3.4).

As injuries and limited playing time have slowed his progress down in the last few weeks, Rocco Zikarsky from the Brisbane Bullets is now projected as a #44 pick. The 18-year-old ranks third in the NBL for both REB% (15.4) and BLK% (4.7).

Izan Almansa of the Perth Wildcats has been in and out of the recent Mock Drafts, but his development and pivotal role as a starter for the Bryce Cotton-led team has caught the scouts’ attention, giving him a spot at #56. Almansa has hit 7 of his last 14 threes and has been shooting just under 40% from beyond the arc on the season (38.9% 3PT). 

When it comes to Malique Lewis, whose progress as a 3&D prospect with the South East Melbourne Phoenix has been so impressive that multiple people are mentioning him as a DPOY candidate in NBL25, he was able to also secure his own place in this latest ESPN’s Mock Draft, being ranked at #58.