It seems like just about every year, there’s an international player who wasn’t getting much draft hype in the preseason or early in the regular season but ended up rising up draft boards. 

Bilal Coulibaly, Tidjane Salaun, and Josh Giddey are some recent examples. Ousmane Dieng ended up going higher on draft night than most people thought he would – and early on in his pre-draft season, he was struggling and was lower on draft boards. This mock draft from early on in the 2020-2021 season didn’t have Alperen Sengun or Giddey in it. 

It’s very common. The top high school players from the US are more well known and get more publicity and visibility with the US-based media when we see them in the McDonald’s All-American game, in the HS national championships, the EYBL circuit, etc. 

Meanwhile, international players can fly under the radar. 

Neoklis Avdalas could be that guy for the 2025 draft class. That guy who wasn’t getting much hype and wasn’t in the mock drafts in the preseason or early in the season, yet flies up draft boards as we get closer to the draft. 

As it stands right now, I would draft Avdalas in the lottery. Here’s why:

Avdalas in a Nutshell 

Avdalas is a wing. That right there makes him valuable. Wings are the most sought-after position for NBA teams. Over the past 2 or 3 drafts, we’ve seen more wings get drafted than any other position – and it’s not close. 

There are a few reasons for this. One reason is you can play more wings at a time than other positions. Teams typically just play 1 big at a time – occasionally, they might go with a double big lineup, but it’s usually just 1. With guards, teams usually only play 1 or perhaps 2 at a time, but we’re seeing teams try to put more size on the floor. That’s partly why the Celtics have been so good – they’re able to play bigger lineups with Jaylen Brown at the 2 and Jayson Tatum at the 3 without sacrificing ball handling because both of those guys can handle the rock. 

That’s why guys like Avdalas are so valuable. Guys with wing size who allow a team to play bigger while still having multiple ball handlers on the floor. Avdalas isn’t really a pure PG, but he absolutely acts as a secondary ball handler a lot of the time. He’ll run pick and roll, he’ll lead the break, he’ll initiate actions. And he’ll give his team a guy on the weak side who can attack/create off the dribble if the ball gets swung over to him. 

And he’s doing all of this stuff at age 18 in one of the world’s top pro leagues. 

At Basketball Without Borders 2024, he was measured at 6’6.25″ without shoes. Shoes typically add 1 – 2 inches, so in shoes, he’s somewhere between 6’7.25″ and 6’8.25″. 

We’ve touched on some of the things Avdalas brings to the table. But what type of wing is he really? What’s his archetype? There are a few different archetypes for wings. There are wing shooters (who often are not great defensively and/or in terms of athleticism). There are wing slashers (who often are not good shooters). There are wing defenders (who are often more raw in terms of their offensive skill set). Some guys are a mix of 2 (or more) of the archetypes. 

For Avdalas, I’d classify him as an “offensive wing” archetype. This is a common archetype for European players: guys who are offensively skilled and versatile, who can dribble/pass/shoot, who process the game well, have good basketball IQ, good fundamentals, and overall have a pretty high skill level for their age. 

They’re not necessarily shooters, slashers, passers, or facilitator PGs – they are pretty well-rounded offensively. They’re also typically at least 6’6″. Some of these guys are Evan Fournier, Toni Kukoc, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Danilo Gallinari, Dirk Nowitzki (Gallo and Dirk were certainly more of a wing when they first came into the league), Simone Fontecchio, Peja Stojakovic, Hedo Turkoglu, etc. 

Now, I’m not saying that Avdalas is as good as all of those guys. And I’m not saying that all of those guys are the same. It’s obviously a pretty loose, broad archetype. I’m just trying to give a general idea of the type of wing prospect Avdalas is. 

To be more specific, I think Avdalas has some shades of Fournier, Bogdanovic, Kukoc, and Turkoglu. He’s a little bit of all those guys. And that’s a prospect who pretty much all 30 NBA teams should have on their radar. 

There’s also some similarities between Avdalas (his size, skill set, etc.) and other European wings like Nikola Djurisic (2nd round pick in 2024 draft who I was high on and had him ranked as a 1st rounder on my personal big board), Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk and Dzanan Musa.

Most (if not all) of those European wings I just mentioned were not great defenders. But they were so skilled offensively (along with good positional size) that it didn’t matter. That’s also the hope with Avdalas. I’ll touch on his defense more later, though. 

It’s also worth noting that some of the players Avdalas follows on Twitter (X) are Trae Young, James Harden, Luka Doncic, Donovan Mitchell, Jamal Crawford and Ja Morant. 

Offensive Skill Set

Alright, let’s look at some film. This first play is perhaps my favorite. We really see Avdalas’ tight handle – he’s got the ball on a string. He’s got a bag and shows the ability to break down his man off the dribble, use a double crossover move to get by his man, get to the rim, and finish with the left hand. 

Here are a few plays where we see the handle, the ability to create separation, create a shot, and show some impressive touch in the mid-range. The first play, in particular, is impressive in terms of the shot-making ability. You don’t want to have a shot diet that relies too heavily on tough, fadeaway turnaround jumpers like this (Avdalas doesn’t have that type of shot diet anyways – he mixes it up nicely with shots from all 3 levels, plus scoring in transition) but being able to hit shots like this and have counters that can create shots like this is a trait that many star scorers have. 

Now, THIS is how you take a Dribble Hand Off (DHO) if you’re a guard/wing! Avdalas flashes hard towards the big, making the DHO for him. He sees that his big made a good screen to screen Avdalas out of the play, leaving only the big defender to beat – and the big defender is not in a great position to stop Avdalas. Avdalas sees that and can tell he’s got a pretty easy path to the basket if he drives it hard – which is what he does, exploding to the rim and throwing down the dunk. 

Making this play shows a nice combination of skill/finesse and size/power, along with the basketball IQ to see that driving lane and the confidence/assertiveness to immediately drive the ball hard through that lane and go for the dunk. 

Rim reads are so important for any player – especially a wing. When you get the ball and you’re within 30ish feet of the basket, you need to be a threat to score/make a play, and you need to make the right read – the right decision. Possibly the biggest thing I see on film with Avdalas is the ability to do these things – on pretty much every play. 

On this play, he gets the ball on the wing. He’s open on the catch. If he wanted to, he could take the 3 here. If he took the 3, it would have been a good look. But he sees the floor and sees that he’s got a better shot if he drives it to the basket. Sure, 3 points are worth more than 2. But unless you’re a truly elite shooter from a long distance (which is not the case for most players, especially pre-draft prospects under the age of 22), the better shot here is to drive it to the basket. Avdalas gets the ball on the wing, immediately sees the open driving lane, and takes it strong to the cup. And he finishes at the rim for the and-1 – so he actually ends up getting 3 points here after all. 

In this next clip, it’s a tie game, with just over 1:30 left in the 4th quarter. Avdalas has the ball out on the perimeter. He has space to shoot the 3. But it’s a tie game; you don’t need a 3. He also sees that his defender is out of position and off balance. His defender looks like he’s starting to lunge forward to try and contest the shot (thinking Avdalas is gonna shoot the 3), so Avdalas knows he could easily get by his man off the dribble – and he sees the floor and sees that if he does get by his man – the paint is wide open. So that’s what he does – drives it to the rim and makes the layup to score the go-ahead bucket. He literally gets his defender to fall down because he faked his defender out (the defender thought he was gonna shoot the 3). 

I’m typically a believer in FTr (free throw rate) as a good indicator for future success as a scorer at the NBA level. Avdalas currently has a low FTr (just 22.3). However, I’m not too worried about that since we see so many clips showing his impressive driving ability. 
Also, it does seem like (in general) players in overseas pro leagues have lower FTr than many of the top drivers in the NCAA. It’s just the way the game is played overseas that there are fewer fouls—partly because the spacing is better than it is in the NCAA. But also partly because the defenders are better and more disciplined, so they don’t foul as much. 

Now, let’s take a look at some of his 3-point shooting. First, it’s worth noting that Avdalas is shooting 41.3% from 3 on the season over a 16-game sample. That sample includes a rough start to the season, where he shot just 1/9 (11.1%) over his first 3 games. Since then, he’s shooting a scorching hot 48.6% over his last 13 games. 

And keep in mind, this while playing top-tier competition in Greece’s top pro league—at age 18—at 6’7″. 

Not only has he been shooting the ball extremely well from deep over these past 13 games, but the progression he’s made as a 3-point shooter is very encouraging. He went from 13.6% from 3 last season (at only age 17) to 28.1% from 3 at last summer’s FIBA U18 EuroBasket tournament to 41% from 3 this season.

His FT% is also on the rise – he went from 62.1% last season and 55.6% at FIBA U18 over the summer to 80% so far this season in the Greek league. 

Clearly, Avdalas has been putting in the work to get better at his shooting since his shooting numbers are up across the board – despite facing much tougher competition. 

His shot mechanics now look smooth. He’s hitting shots off the dribble, side-step 3s, and 3s from NBA range. He’s hitting 3s under pressure late in the shot clock, etc. 

Here are some clips that show his 3-ball, starting with the play where the pressure is on and the shot clock is winding down. But Avdalas is calm, cool, and collected. He’s able to freeze his defender just enough to have space to hit the 3. 

Avdalas’s playmaking ability is also impressive. He’s got a good feel and vision, and pretty much every time, he makes the right basketball play in terms of when to drive, shoot, and pass. 

Avdalas posted an impressive 33.4 assist % over 10 games during the 22-23 season when he was only 16 years old and was playing up in U18 competitions. 

Here are some clips that show Avdalas’ playmaking ability. To start out, we’ve got a play where Avdalas runs PnR and does a nice job of freezing the big defender, resulting in 2 defenders out on him. Avdalas makes the right read, zipping pass on the money to rolling big for the layup:

A big part of the appeal with Avdalas is how effective he is offensively – both on-ball and off-ball. So far, we’ve seen lots of clips of him creating off the bounce, shooting off the bounce, and making passes off the dribble. We’ve seen some off-ball shooting. Avdalas is also an excellent cutter. He has good timing and instincts when cutting. And he cuts hard:

Avdalas is also very effective in transition. He’s a smart player. He knows that you’ve got a better chance of scoring if you can get out in transition and get a high percentage look – before the opposing team gets everyone back on D. And he also knows that he’s quick and skilled for a player of his size, which can help him make plays on the break – let’s have a look:

As you can see, Avdalas’ offensive versatility is very good. He can shoot the 3 (off the catch, off the movement, off the dribble) and has a good touch in the mid-range. He can score on drives, off of cuts, and in transition. Plus, he’s a good playmaker – out of PnR, in transition, on drive and kicks. He can make skip passes to the open shooter. He really has a complete offensive game – everything you could ask a wing to do on the offensive end. He’s only 18 years old, so he’s still getting better. 

Defense

Most of the sell with Avdalas as a prospect is on the offensive end. As we touched on earlier, most of the guys in this European offensive wing archetype (Kukoc, Bogdanovic, Fournier, Nowitzki, etc.) aren’t great defenders. Wing players with this much offensive skill often develop more on the defensive end later on down the road—they’re typically not going to be great defenders at age 18, especially when going vs. grown men pros. 

With all of that being said, Avdalas is a decent defender. His foot speed is sometimes lacking, and he will sometimes over-help and leave his man open. But he has good positional size, decent athleticism, and good effort on D. He is (for the most part) alert and attentive on D and knows where he needs to be. He also has some impressive defensive possessions, as we see in these clips. 

In particular, watch the nice chase-down block and the way he helps on D to knock the ball away, which leads to a turnover and fast break opportunity for his team:

Weaknesses 

There’s not much for weaknesses, to be honest. As mentioned earlier, his FTr is a bit low, but for the reasons mentioned earlier, I’m not too concerned about that. 

The shooting is good, but it’s only been these past 13 games that he has really started to shoot the ball well from deep. I’m sure NBA teams will want to see him sustain this level of shooting before fully buying in. 

The defense isn’t great, as I had touched on before. But for the reasons I mentioned earlier, I’m not too concerned there. I do think he will have to keep working on D – he’ll have to keep getting better so he won’t be a defensive liability as a guy like Evan Fournier has been at times – and other offensive-minded wings have been at times as well (like Sam Hauser, Corey Kispert, Davis Bertans, etc.). 

Role Projection

At this point, his potential role at the NBA level should be fairly obvious. He’s a wing who can give you some offense and bring value on offense in various ways – including secondary ball handling, secondary playmaking, ability to run some PnR, cut to the basket, hit open 3’s, etc. All while holding his own on D. It wouldn’t shock me if eventually, in his prime, he’s able to give an NBA team around 15 or 16 PPG (on good efficiency), along with 4 or 5 assists and 4 or 5 rebounds a game. 

He’s currently averaging 18.9 points per 40 minutes, a solid number for an 18-year-old playing in a top pro league.

2025 or 2026 Draft?

I’ve seen a few folks mention that Avdalas is a guy who will likely get drafted in 2026, rather than 2025. Some folks have even said he could play NCAA college ball in the 25-26 season, ahead of the 2026 draft.

I suppose that could happen. Simply put, I think Avdalas is worthy of a lottery pick now—in 2025. So why wait until 2026?

When you look at the best players in the NBA – most of them got drafted during the first year they were eligible to be drafted. Sure, there are some exceptions. These are guys like Derrick White, Tyrese Haliburton, Jalen Brunson, and Donovan Mitchell. But those are guys who simply were not ready after their freshman seasons.

I’m all for staying in college – or staying overseas to keep developing, improve your game, get stronger, get more mature before going into the draft. But if you’re ready during your first year of draft eligibility, you should do it.

I think Avdalas is ready – unless he really starts slumping and takes a step back in his progression over the course of the rest of this season.

Wrapping it Up

Obviously, there’s Giannis Antetokounmpo—a top-three player in the world. But it would be kind of cool to have another Greek player contributing consistently in the NBA. That might be something motivating Avdalas. Six Greek players have been drafted since Giannis, but none have been able to stick in the league. 

Avdalas could change that trend, and he could be the next overseas player to rise up draft boards later in the draft cycle. 

I’ll be monitoring his progress closely over the rest of the season. He’s been taking his game to another level recently with his hot shooting and has scored 23 and 19 points in his last two games.

It’ll be interesting to see if he can keep this up. But at this point, I have moved him up to the 13th spot on my big board. I thought about ranking him higher (as high as 8th) but I want to wait and see if he can sustain the level of play we have seen over these past 13 or so games.

Considering how low he is on most draft boards and mock drafts right now, that makes him my top sleeper for the 2025 NBA draft.