New Zealand Breakers NBL Next Star Rayan Rupert and former Next Star Mojave King have been invited to next week’s NBA Draft Combine.

The Combine, which will take place from May 15-21 in Chicago, will see 78 players participate in several strength and agility drills and testing, five-on-five games, shooting drills, have interviews with NBA teams, and more.

Rupert is coming off a strong season with the Breakers, earning his way into the team’s starting five during the Finals.

The 18-year-old averaged 5.9 points and 2.1 rebounds this season, but made a profound impact on games with his defensive versatility and intensity. He also grew in confidence and belief as the season progressed, with coach Mody Maor displaying more trust in the Frenchman.

Rupert is projected to be a first round pick in June’s NBA Draft, with ESPN’s latest projections having him pegged as the 18^th selection.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Here is the full combine list, per the NBA. Note that Victor Wembanyama is not participating, with his season still in progress in France. <a href="https://t.co/ddPGSkeQFg">pic.twitter.com/ddPGSkeQFg</a></p>&mdash; Jeremy Woo (@JeremyWoo) <a href="https://twitter.com/JeremyWoo/status/1656074915265536002?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 9, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

In the past three drafts Next Stars have been selected as lottery picks (LaMelo Ball, Josh Giddey, Ousmane Dieng), and Rupert is hoping to continue that trend.

King spent two seasons as a Next Star with the Cairns Taipans (2020/21) and Adelaide 36ers (2021/22).

After 56 NBL games, King joined the G-League Ignite team where he had an impressive campaign, amassing 9.4 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.

King is an outside chance of being drafted, with ESPN ranking him as the 91^st best player available.