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Seven new European talents were chosen during the second round of the 2025 NBA Draft sponsored by State Farm.
French player Noah Penda became the first European prospect to be selected, going 32nd overall to the Orlando Magic. He was recognized as the Best Young Player in France’s Betclic Elite for the 2024-25 season with Le Mans and earned a gold medal at the FIBA U20 EuroBasket 2024 while representing France.
The Milwaukee Bucks made Serbian forward Bogoljub Markovic their solitary selection of the draft at 47th overall. The 19-year-old, who has been recognized as the Top Prospect in the ABA League, continues the franchise’s tradition of selecting players from Mega Superbet.
Cleveland Cavaliers picked 21-year-old center Saliou Niang at the 58th position following a strong season with Dolomiti Energia Trento in the BKT EuroCup and Italy’s LBA UnipolSai. Recently, Niang was also called up to Italy’s senior national team.
To add to the influx of French talent in North America, the Sacramento Kings selected 22-year-old big man Maxime Raynaud with the 42nd overall pick. Raynaud had a successful four-year stint in the NCAA with Stanford.
20-year-old French forward Mohamed Diawara, coming off a season with Cholet in the Basketball Champions League Qualification Rounds 2024, was picked 51st overall by the New York Knicks.
Amari Williams, a player from Britain, was chosen 46th overall by the Boston Celtics after competing for both Kentucky and Drexel in the NCAA, continuing the trend of selections from college basketball veterans.
The Celtics secured their third European player when they selected Ukrainian Max Shulga at 57th overall after he spent five seasons in the NCAA with Virginia Commonwealth and Utah State. This selection followed Hugo Gonzalez, who was picked in the first round.
The second round wrapped up a two-day draft event held at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center after nine European players were selected on Wednesday.
*Note: The New York Knicks forfeited their second-round pick due to a tampering violation.
Photo Credit: FIBA
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