Zikarsky, Maluach Headline 2025 NBA Draft’s 7-Footers

The 2025 NBA Draft will put another crop of 7-footers into the NBA, and two lead the pack currently.

Duke basketball's Cameron Indoor Stadium in 2024. / Rodd Baxley/The Fayetteville Observer / USA TODAY NETWORK

The NBA has seen a massive surge of skillful 7-footers in recent years.

Players like Cleveland’s Evan Mobley, Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren and, of course, the headliner in soon-to-be Spurs’ superstar Victor Wembanyama. And that elite group doesn’t factor in the likes of Walker Kessler, Dereck Lively and recent Portland draftee Donovan Clingan, who are all set to provide staunch defense for their respective teams.

Those players and more have started a 7-footer era in the NBA, and the 2025 NBA Draft is set to send even more, headlined by Duke’s Khaman Maluach and Australian big man Rocco Zikarsky.

Maluach has long been on professional radars. Standing at 7-foot-2 with a reported 7-foot-5 wingspan, he earned five-star status, promptly signing with the Duke Blue Devils to play alongside projected No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg. His offense is mostly theoretical at this point — scoring with athleticism around the basket — but he has been known to hit the occasional 3-pointer, making for an intriguing prospect.

Defensively, Maluach overwhelms with length. And while he doesn’t yet have perfect block timing, it’s coming around, and his stature makes up for it more often than not.

Zikarsky is similar in plenty of ways, boasting a height of 7-foot-3. He averaged one block in just seven minutes played in 27 games for Brisbane of the NBL last season, and is set to see a much bigger role ahead of the 2025 draft. Offensively, he hasn’t yet expanded, but the skill and touch seem there.

Zikarsky and Maluach are near-consensus lottery prospects in 2025 as it stands now, but the class is sure to yield some surprises as we dive into college and professional seasons.

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