Johann Grunloh Is Making a Name for Himself

German big Johann Grunloh is putting up solid numbers and playing a notable role for German club Rasta Vechta. His quality of play has him in 2025 NBA Draft conversations, and he’s got strong offensive upside but concerns remain for his defense.

Johann Grunloh / fiba.basketbal

The 2025 International NBA Draft class has a surplus of bigs. Rocco Zikarsky, Bogoljub Markovic, Mouhamed Faye, Michael Ruzic, Izan Almansa, Joan Beringer, and now German prospect Johann Grunloh. Playing for Rast Vechta, Grunloh came into the season as their starting center and has remained one of their most important players - building on his debut season in senior basketball last season. 

Grunloh is averaging 8.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, 0.8 assists, and 1.6 blocks per game on 56/44/70 shooting splits in almost 25 minutes per game. The offensive upside is enticing and brings the most intrigue for his future. Arguably the best part of his offensive game is his shot profile. More than 75 percent of his shots come out of the pick-and-roll, cuts, and offensive rebounds per Synergy Sports. Almost half are as a roll man and less than five percent from the post. Dominant low post players are rarely an element of contending teams in the modern NBA - sans superstars like Nikola Jokic. 

Grunloh’s shot profile indicates he’ll be able to play the role of the modern big that NBA teams are looking for: he’ll screen, he’ll roll and pop, he’ll finish, and he can find open teammates. He doesn’t demand touches, he gets them in areas where he can capitalize on them. 

Grunloh is the type of player who knows his role and responsibilities, he knows what he can do to help his team win. It starts with his soft hands and touch. He’s got great catch and finish ability, both at the rim and in the lane. His touch extends to the perimeter, where he’s becoming a threat as a stretch big. The 44 percent from deep is impressive but on only 18 attempts, it’s hard to make any drastic conclusions. The form looks good, but the load-up is a little slow. He’s also 1-for-7 on contested threes this season, and 7-for-12 uncontested. Teams have dared him to make threes to start the season, and we’ll see if that approach changes if these splits hold. 

His soft hands transfer elsewhere as well. He’s not afraid to put the ball on the floor as a big. He’s not Victor Wembanyama and sizing opponents up with crossovers, but he can make an overzealous closeout into a costly mistake, and get into in-motion dribble handoff sets with his guards by meeting them with a dribble. This skill set compliments his passing vision. Grunloh can survey and dish out of the short roll, and the pick-and-roll. His offensive game is what you want from a modern center, and that’s why he’s climbing up draft boards. 

There are defensive concerns for Grunloh. For starters, he’s undersized. Standing at 6-foot-9 and 220 pounds, there are NBA wings bigger than he is. Additionally, being undersized isn’t translating to increased athleticism. He’s stiff and slow in his recovery and chase efforts. Mobility overall is a question mark for him, and he’s prone to getting bullied in the post. 

These defensive concerns raise a rather important question for Grunloh’s future. Who can he guard? Can he get stronger and help defend down low? Or can his overall IQ translate to the defensive end, minimizing the detrimental impact of his subpar mobility and allowing him to take on a secondary big role who can guard the opposing team's worst perimeter threat and help around the rim? 

It’s tough to project Grunloh’s defense. Vechta puts him in a lot of deep drop coverages because 6-foot-9 is a decent size for a European center, especially one not in the EuroLeague. That will be less useful in the NBA, so let’s hope we get a peak at some other coverages from Grunloh throughout the season.

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