International Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Top International Prospects Staying In 2025 Draft

June 15th, 2025 at 7:01pm CST by Eli Cohen

Several of the top international prospects among this year’s early entrants have decided to keep their names in this year’s draft pool.

Noa Essengue, Joan Beringer, Hugo Gonzalez, Nolan Traore, Ben Saraf, Noah Penda, Hansen Yang, Alex Toohey, Bogoljub Markovic, Rocco Zikarsky, Izan Almansa, Saliou Niang, Mohamed Diawara, and Eli Ndiaye are all staying in the 2025 NBA draft, reports ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (via Twitter).

That player group represents 14 of the 15 international players who were ranked on ESPN’s top-100 prospect board coming into the day, with Essengue the highest-ranked prospect at No. 9, and Ndiaye the lowest at No. 97. The lone ranked prospect to withdraw from the draft today was Neoklis Avdalas, ranked No. 51.

While their withdrawals from the draft haven’t been officially confirmed, it sounds like Asim Djulovic, Lazar Gacic, Muodubem Muoneke, Ousmane N’Diaye, and Zaion Nebot also pulled out, since Givony refers to the above list as the “final tally” of international prospects in the draft.

[RELATED: 2025 NBA Draft Early Entrants List]

Dink Pate, who played for the Mexico City Capitanes in the G League this past season, is also keeping his name in the draft pool, Givony notes. Pate is the No. 56 prospect on ESPN’s board.

With a bigger-than-usual amount of lower-ranked NCAA prospects returning to school thanks to NIL deals, the international class has a chance to gain ground with strong pre-draft showings. Essengue, in particular, has seen his draft stock rise following a strong playoff run for Ratiopharm Ulm.

Mouhamed Faye, Ben Henshall To Pull Out Of NBA Draft

June 14th, 2025 at 6:31pm CST by Arthur Hill

Potential second-round pick Mouhamed Faye will take his name out of this year’s draft, agent Matteo Comellini tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link).

Faye, 20, will consider options in both the EuroLeauge and the NCAA for next season, according to Givony. The 6’10” Senegalese center played this year with Reggie Emilio in Italy, where he averaged 10.1 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. He ranks 54th on ESPN’s big board.

Faye left Senegal at age 16 to join Reggiana’s youth team for the 2022/23 season. He was promoted to the senior team a year later and was honored as the best player under 22 in Lega Basket Serie A. He also registered for the 2024 draft, but withdrew in mid-June.

Australian guard Ben Henshall is also exiting the draft, agent Sam Rose tells Givony (Twitter link). Henshall, 20, also plans to consider NCAA and professional opportunities for next season. He spent this year with the Perth Wildcats in the NBL, averaging 9.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists. Henshall ranks 64th on ESPN’s list of the best prospects.

International players have until June 15 to pull their names out of this year’s draft. The NCAA set a May 28 deadline for college players to withdraw and keep their eligibility.

Igor Kokoskov To Be Named Head Coach Of Anadolu Efes

June 14th, 2025 at 4:08pm CST by Rory Maher

Former NBA head coach Igor Kokoskov, who has been an assistant on Quin Snyder‘s staff with the Hawks the past two seasons, will be returning to Europe to be the new coach of Turkish club Anadolu Efes, according to Aris Barkas of Eurohoops.

Basketball Sphere first reported that Efes was interested in hiring Kokoskov, with Meridian Sport later reporting that a deal between the two sides was being finalized.

A native of Serbia, Kokoskov was the first person born and raised outside of North America to become an NBA head coach, having spent one season (2018/19) at the helm in Phoenix. He was also the first non-American coach on a championship team, Barkas notes, earning the distinction as an assistant with Detroit in 2004.

In addition to his long career as an NBA assistant, the 53-year-old also been the head coach of the national teams of Georgia, Serbia and Slovenia, helping the latter claim a EuroBasket gold in 2017.

Since 2000, Kokoskov has been an assistant with the Clippers, Pistons, Suns, Cavaliers, Jazz, Kings, Mavericks, Nets and Hawks.

Koskokov will replace Luca Bianchi as head coach of Anadolu Efes, which competes in both the EuroLeague and Turkey’s Basketball Super League (BSL).

International Notes: Cousins, Grant, Days, Wright-Foreman

June 14th, 2025 at 1:29pm CST by Rory Maher

Former NBA star DeMarcus Cousins offered a brief apology on Instagram for his role in a brawl with fans in Puerto Rico on Monday, as Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com relays (via Twitter).

“I want to apologize to the fans of Puerto Rico for my actions,” Cousins wrote. “I have so much love and respect for the island (blue heart emoji).”

Cousins, 34, was suspended for the remainder of the season and had his contract terminated by Mets de Guaynabo as a result of the incident (YouTube link). He was also fined. The four-time All-Star’s last NBA stop came with Denver during the 2021/22 season.

Here are a few more international notes:

Veteran guard Jerian Grant, who played parts of five NBA seasons from 2015-20, has officially signed a contract extension that will keep him with Greek powerhouse Panathinaikos through the 2027/28 season (story via BasketNews.com). The 32-year-old averaged 8.7 points and 3.3 assists on .505/.414/.862 shooting in 34 EuroLeague games this past season (26.4 MPG).
Fresh off an NBL championship with the Illawara Hawks, ex-Rocket Darius Days will be heading to Japan for the ’25/26 campaign, having reached an agreement with San-En NeoPhoenix of the B.League, sources tell Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews. The 25-year-old forward spent the ’22/23 season on a two-way deal with Houston.
Former Hofstra point guard Justin Wright-Foreman, who spent several months on a two-way deal with Utah after being selected 53rd overall in 2019, has officially signed a one-year deal with Greece’s Iraklis BC, the team announced in a press release. Wright-Foreman, who has suited up for Team USA on multiple occasions during AmeriCup Qualifiers, most recently played in Qatar.

And-Ones: Expansion, Greenwood, Anigbata, 2020 Draft

June 13th, 2025 at 3:18pm CST by Luke Adams

While NBA commissioner Adam Silver believes the league will “likely” expand beyond its current 30 teams sooner or later, he said during an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show this week that it’s not obvious to him that it absolutely needs to happen in the short term (Twitter video link).

“The reason I say it’s not obvious is because as a global business where something like two billion people will connect with us on social media, over a billion people over the course of the year will watch some portion of the game, adding another U.S. city, it’s unclear how much growth we’ll get as a result of that,” Silver explained, noting that expanding from 30 teams to 32 would dilute the NBA’s talent pool and result in two new partners splitting up the league’s revenue.

“… Having said that,” Silver continued, “I do believe certain markets can potentially be additive to the NBA, and that’s what we’re going to look at. I think part of it is geographic. It’s a big country. Making sure we’re represented all around the country, and then over time, maybe there’s more we can do in Canada, and Mexico City is a city we’ve talked about before.”

Silver went on to say that the NBA hasn’t met with any groups from specific cities yet, but confirmed that expansion will be a real topic of discussion at the league’s Board of Governors meetings in July.

“I don’t mean to tease people with this,” Silver said. “This is the summer we’re going to look at it seriously.”

We have more from around the basketball world:

David Greenwood, a former UCLA star who was the No. 2 overall pick in the 1979 draft behind Magic Johnson, has passed away at age 68 after battling cancer, according to Beth Harris of The Associated Press. Greenwood appeared in over 800 regular season games across 12 NBA seasons with the Bulls, Spurs, Pistons, and Nuggets, earning a spot on the All-Rookie first team in 1980 and winning a title with Detroit in 1990. He held career averages of 10.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in 28.4 minutes per game.
Ahead of Sunday’s draft withdrawal deadline for early entrants, German forward Alec Anigbata has removed his name from consideration, reports Jon Chepkevich of DraftExpress (Twitter link). The 20-year-old has played a minor role for Ratiopharm Ulm in Germany this season and will become automatically draft-eligible in 2026, Chepkevich notes.
If the 2020 NBA draft were held again knowing what we know now, Anthony Edwards would still be the No. 1 pick, but a pair of Tyreses – Tyrese Haliburton and Tyrese Maxey – would move into the top three after initially being drafted at No. 12 and No. 21, respectively, according to HoopsHype. In HoopsHype’s 2020 re-draft, a series of late first-rounders move into the top 10, with Desmond Bane jumping from No. 30 to No. 5 while Jaden McDaniels (No. 28 to No. 6), Immanuel Quickley (No. 25 to No. 9), and Payton Pritchard (No. 26 to No. 10) also make big leaps.

Malachi Flynn Joining Turkish Team

June 13th, 2025 at 7:48am CST by Luke Adams

Free agent guard Malachi Flynn, a former NBA first-round pick, has reached an agreement to join Bahçeşehir Koleji, the Turkish team announced today in a press release (hat tip to Sportando).

The No. 29 overall pick in 2020, Flynn spent his first three-and-a-half NBA seasons with the Raptors, appearing in 175 regular season games and averaging 5.4 points and 2.0 assists in 15.0 minutes per night, with a shooting line of .379/.338/.756.

The former Washington State standout was traded from Toronto to New York alongside OG Anunoby and Precious Achiuwa in December 2023, then was flipped to Detroit several weeks later in the deal that sent Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks to the Knicks. His most memorable NBA outing came near the end of the 2023/24 season with the Pistons, when he went off for 50 points in an April game against the Hawks.

Despite that display of his scoring ability, Flynn had a hard time finding work at the NBA level during the 2024/25 season and spent much of the year with the Austin Spurs in the G League. He put up 22.6 PPG on .475/.391/.847 shooting in 36 games with San Antonio’s NBAGL affiliate, earning a 10-day contract with the Hornets in March. That was the 27-year-old’s most recent stint on an NBA roster.

Bahçeşehir Koleji, Flynn’s new team, doesn’t compete in the EuroLeague or EuroCup, but is coming off a strong year in Turkey’s Basketball Super League. The club went 18-12 in the regular season and made the semifinals in the playoffs before being eliminated by Fenerbahçe.

International Notes: Cousins, Culver, Dozier, Milutinov

June 11th, 2025 at 9:04pm CST by Arthur Hill

Former NBA star DeMarcus Cousins, now playing in Puerto Rico, was suspended for the remainder of the season and had his contract terminated after being involved in a brawl with fans, according to The Associated Press.

During a game on Monday, Cousins made an obscene gesture toward a fan at courtside, then grabbed the fan’s arm after they exchanged words. He was eventually pulled away by his teammates. After being ejected, Cousins argued with another fan on his way back to the locker room while several people threw liquids at him.

On Tuesday, the Baloncesto Superior Nacional league fined Cousins $4,250 for his actions. He could face an additional $5,750 fine, according to AP.

“As an organization, we strongly condemn any form of violence or provocation, whether on or off the field. Safety, respect, and sportsmanship are non-negotiable values for this franchise,” Cousins’ team stated in a news release.

This is the second season in Puerto Rico for the 34-year-old, who last played in the NBA during the 2021/22 season. He’s averaging 18.2 points and nine rebounds per game, but his Mets team is only 9-18.

There’s more international news to pass along:

Jarrett Culver, the sixth pick in the 2019 draft, is nearing an agreement with the Sendai 89ers in Japan, sources tell Domantas Urbonas of BasketNews. The 26-year-old, who played four NBA seasons, spent this year with the Osceola Magic in the G League, averaging 13.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 34 games.
Former NBA player PJ Dozier has decided to re-sign with Anadolu Efes amid significant interest on the EuroLeague free agent market, Urbonas adds in a separate story. Dozier, 28, helped the Turkish team make a late-season charge to the playoffs after signing with them in January.
Nets draft-and-stash player Nikola Milutinov has signed a three-year contract to remain with Olympiacos, Urbonas tweets. A report earlier this week indicated that Milutinov was close to leaving for Olimpia Milano, and he reportedly also received a large offer from Panathinaikos.

Mavs, Pistons To Play Regular Season Game In Mexico City

June 11th, 2025 at 7:27am CST by Luke Adams

The Mavericks and Pistons will play a regular season game in Mexico City on November 1, 2025, the NBA has announced in a press release. The game will take place at Mexico City Arena (aka Arena CDMX).

It’s the second straight year in which the NBA’s annual Mexico City game will coincide with local Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebrations. The Heat and Wizards played in Mexico during the 2024/25 season on Nov. 2.

The matchup between the Mavericks and Pistons will be the NBA’s 34th preseason or regular season game in Mexico since 1992. It will also be the eighth time that the Mavericks have participated in one of those contests south of the border.

The NBA has consistently played at least one regular season game in Mexico City since 2017, skipping only 2020 and 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This is the first 2025/26 regular season game announced by the NBA that will take place outside of the U.S. or Canada, though the league previously confirmed a series of international preseason matchups for the fall. The Knicks and Sixers are competing in Abu Dhabi on October 2 and 4; the Pelicans will face teams from Australia’s National Basketball League in Melbourne on Oct. 3 and 5; and the Nets and Suns will be playing in Macao on Oct. 10 and 12.

Second-Round Prospect Malique Lewis Withdraws From Draft

June 10th, 2025 at 4:31pm CST by Dana Gauruder

International prospect Malique Lewis will withdraw from the draft and return to play for the South East Melbourne Phoenix as part of Australia’s NBL Next Stars program, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony tweets.

Lewis was considered a potential second-round pick. He was ranked No. 67 overall on ESPN’s Best Available list.

A native of Trinidad & Tobago, Lewis is a 6’8” wing with a 7’1” wingspan. He’ll try to improve his draft stock for 2026 in the Next Stars program.

The 20-year-old Lewis moved to Spain as a 16-year-old to play for Fuenlabrada in the Liga ACB for two seasons. He joined the Mexico City Capitanes of the NBA G League for the 2023/24 season, where he played in 50 games and averaged 8.3 points and 5.8 rebounds.

Lewis signed with South East Melbourne last summer and averaged 6.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game last season.

Jaylen Nowell Joining Chinese Team

June 10th, 2025 at 10:41am CST by Luke Adams

Jaylen Nowell is heading to China, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando, who reports that the free agent guard has signed with the Shanxi Loongs. Nowell republished a social media post announcing the news on his Instagram account.

A second-round pick in the 2019 draft, Nowell spent his first four NBA seasons in Minnesota, where he played a regular rotation role and averaged 9.1 points in 17.0 minutes per game on .447/.322/.798 shooting across 184 outings.

However, Nowell wasn’t retained by the Timberwolves during the 2023 offseason and has bounced around the NBA and the G League since then, spending time with the Grizzlies, Pistons, and Pelicans, as well as the Stockton Kings and Capital City Go-Go. He has put up big numbers at the NBAGL level, including averaging 24.7 PPG with a .527/.479/.900 shooting line this past season for the Go-Go, but has seen action in just 21 total NBA games since departing Minnesota.

Nowell, who will turn 26 next month, was on an NBA roster as recently as February, when he signed a 10-day contract with the Wizards, but he didn’t play at all during that brief stint with the club.

Shanxi featured multiple former NBA players this past season, with Brandon Goodwin and Hamidou Diallo leading the club in scoring while Harry Giles also played a modest role. The Loongs ranked second among 20 Chinese Basketball Association teams in the regular season standings with a 34-12 record, but fell in the playoff semifinals to the Beijing Ducks.