2025 NBA Draft Early Evaluations: Bogoljub Marković, Sergio de Larrea, Michael Ružić, Johann Grünloh

Breaking down four international prospects!

The NBA is more global than ever, so here are four international prospects I’m keeping an eye on for the 2025 NBA Draft…

Happy Holidays to all!

Bogoljub Marković (Serbia 🇷🇸 / Mega)

DRAFT EVALUATION: Early-mid second round

NBA ROLE: Outside-in four on a team that plays fast

REMINDS ME OF: Darius Bazley / Leonard Miller

Bogoljub Marković is a 6-foot-11 forward playing in the Adriatic League for Mega. He turns 20 in July.

Marković stands out due to his overall production and efficiency as a shooter. That’s accompanied by flashes of ball skill, self-creation transition, and offensive mobility. As of Dec. 22, he is averaging 14.0 points and 7.8 rebounds in 30.0 minutes on 50.8/37.5/80.0 splits. However, the Serbian prospect lacks inside physicality, defensive playmaking, and has an unclear NBA role, confining him to my early second round range — ideally for a team with (relatively) low pressure on-court stakes.

Marković’s scoring has been impressive for a young pro. He’s almost always scoring in the double digits, while showing diverse flashes from three and self-creation glimpses in transition. This is what can potentially separate Marković from other 6-foot-11 forwards. He needs to increase his volume from three (2.5 per game), but he has a track record of making shots from downtown that has now translated in the Adriatic League. Bogoljub’s three has real range, as well.

Then, in transition, Marković’s self-creation is interesting and fun — but also murky. The highs can look great, but the lows are ugly. When everything clicks, Marković’s can gracefully handle the ball in short spaces and contort his long frame to avoid defenders and finish. However, I find that his handle is loose most of the time right now, his ability to play through contact is lacking, and he is unable to create consistent advantages as a grab-and-go ballhandler.

It’s fine to experiment in the Adriatic League, but the NBA is a whole different animal. Marković’s doesn’t possess enough polish with his ball skills to warrant on-ball reps outside of his current context yet. That means he’ll have to largely transition into being a play finisher if he is to have stateside success as a pro. I think Marković can do this as a stationary shooter, but I’m unsure about his outlook closer to the basket.

At his current level, I think Marković is bigger, younger, and more athletic than many of his rivals. Mega also empowers him, and he has the added “pressure,” so to speak, of wanting to make the NBA. Going forward, though, Marković’s athletic advantages probably cease to exist outside of his speed. Plus, his role — and probably opportunity to play through mistakes — becomes much narrower. Those are big adjustments to make, on top of transitioning from Serbia to the United States.

Defensively, Marković moves around pretty well but lacks the rim protection instincts you'd hope from an athletic 6-foot-11 prospect. I don’t see him playing the 5, but his upside guarding 4s and 3s is intriguing. He has nine blocks in 13 games this season, which isn't enough. Marković isn’t soft, but he’s not very gritty. His motor doesn’t stand out for me in any way, for better or worse.

Bogoljub’s positioning is an important improvement point. I find that Marković gives up inside position too often, and he usually doesn’t have the strength to recover. The 2005 forward’s reactions in the paint are still a beat late too often, as well. He is a good athlete, though, so there’s upside to act as a helper at the 4 if his awareness improves.

If he guards the pick-and-roll, I prefer him more at the level. He’s not effective at taking away angles in drop, and I think his posture is too upright in space. That, of course, can be an issue when switching — and, again, paints a hazy picture for Marković on this end of the floor.

Marković played in the G League Fall Invitational on Sept. 4 and 6 against the G League United squad. He scored 18 points (7/12 FG) and 8 points (0/6 FG, 8/10 FT), respectively. Bogoljub previously declared for the 2024 NBA Draft but withdrew his name. He made his Serbia senior national team debut earlier this year. Last season, he was the MVP of the U-19 Adriatic League Final. Marković is represented by BeoBasket, which works in partnership with Excel for the NBA Draft.

Sergio de Larrea (Spain 🇪🇸 / Valencia)

DRAFT EVALUATION: Top 20-25

NBA ROLE: 1-3 connective decision maker with dribble/pass/shoot skillset

REMINDS ME OF: Kyshawn George

PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED — Scouting Report: Sergio De Larrea (2023 U-19 World Cup)

I’m incredibly high on Spanish point guard Sergio de Larrea, and I’d be surprised to see him leave my top 20-30 range.

De Larrea is a 6-foot-7 facilitator with pick-and-roll playmaking instincts, passing creativity, driving ability, and perimeter shooting. The Valencia prospect is young, only having turned 19 on Dec. 4, and incredibly well-regarded by virtually everyone in Spanish basketball.

De Larrea’s body continues to be what needs the most work, but his athleticism and general body movement look much better this season. He also needs to keep improving as a finisher, where physicality in traffic can be an issue. Plus, even though the Valladolid-born prospect has played the 1 all his life, it’s likely that he’ll be more of a general ballhandler in the NBA rather than a full-time point guard.

That isn’t really an issue for me, though. I trust Sergio to make reliable and creative reads when the ball is in his hands, regardless of whether it’s there for 15 seconds or .5 seconds. I prefer De Larrea amassing more touches, as he’s quite crafty in the pick-and-roll for himself and others, but he’s able to make decisions off the catch or move the ball along quickly in a less focal role. Looking at the NBA, he’s not the most dynamic athlete or ballhandler, so moving away from being a full-time point guard, at least at first, will probably help. That doesn’t mean not getting playmaking touches at all, though. Think Dyson Daniels or now Kyshawn George.

In terms of scoring, he can create his own shot at the rim in the pick-and-roll or in transition. He has a floater, but doesn't really try midrange jumpers. There are some pull-up flashes, which I believe are untapped, but Sergio is mostly used as a stationary shooter right now. I think he wants to post up mismatches (smaller guards) sometimes, but this hasn’t really paid dividends yet.

De Larrea’s defensive outlook is relatively positive thanks to his positional size and feel for the game. He has the typical lapses of any 18 y/o, but those aside, he’s impressive when locked in both on and off-ball. De Larrea covers distance from side-to-side pretty well and his active hands+length can be annoying to encounter. He has potential at the point of attack, but…

In order for De Larrea to fulfill his defensive upside, there are two big improvement points. The first is continuing to get stronger and bouncier. His dimensions will match a lot of wings, but his body doesn’t. Both upper body and lower trunk need work, but that’s often the case for young European teenagers who cross over to the NBA. Then, to have effective POA use, De Larrea needs to get better at measuring distances and then matching the faster, shorter steps that smaller ballhandlers take. Right now, he’s almost too big for most ballhandlers, but too weak for most wings.

De Larrea is currently out of action with a right ankle injury. He made his Spain senior national team debut this summer. Born in Valladolid, Spain. Played for San Agustín, the school in his hometown before joining Valencia’s academy (L'Alqueria del Basket). Chechu Mulero was instrumental in this. Started watching basketball when he was 4. Looks up to Luka Doncic, Sergio Rodriguez, and Ricky Rubio. Speaks decent English. Nickname is “Larry,” same as his dad Jorge. Mom is personal trainer Nuria Asenjo. In terms of American competition, has previously played against UCLA and Loyola.

Michael Ružić (Croatia 🇭🇷 / Joventut)

DRAFT EVALUATION: Top 25-35

NBA ROLE: Off-ball four

REMINDS ME OF: Santi Aldama / Tyler Smith

Joventut forward Michael Ružić was looking like one of the top international talents in the 2025 draft before suffering an untimely thumb tendon injury. He hasn’t played since Oct. 19. However, part of Ružić’s appeal is his youth. He doesn’t turn 19 until next Oct. 4, so he has plenty of time to declare for future drafts if this year’s timeline doesn’t end up aligning. The Croatian is a first-round talent who can develop into a valuable complementary piece for a playoff team, but let’s wait to see how and when he comes back.

Ružić’s shooting at his size is his calling card. He can spot-up, catch-and-shoot, pick-and-pop, and he’s even shown made a few shots in transition. Last season, Ružić made 41.5%¹ (34/82) of his threes across 41 ACB and Eurocup games. The numbers were down so far this year (26.7% on 4/15 from three), but on a very small sample size for now.

From there, Ružić can make a decision off the catch. He can attack a closeout, either in a straight line drive or, sometimes, getting creative with his passing. Ružić has nice feel for the game. He knows when to keep the ball moving and he acts decisively when making a move.

On defense and overall, Ružić is not super athletic, but I think he’ll eventually have enough margin for error with his size, mobility, and reading of the game. I wish Ružić was a stronger rebounder (2.4 per game this season, 2.8 last season [6.7 per 40 minutes]), but his toughness is alright. It’s mostly a matter of needing to get much stronger and then maintaining his mobility with that added weight. Ružić looks like a really young 18 body/face-wise — and his physicality can be an issue, but it also didn’t stop him from being a contributor at 17 y/o last year.

I think Ružić can add value as a help defender on defense. He’s a four right now, not a five. His pop isn’t bad and he’s shown some flashes, but the production hasn’t really been there. Similar to Bogoljub Marković, I want more numbers from the Croatian forward given his tools — Ružić is 6-foot-10 with an 8-foot-11 standing reach — but I also think he displays more instincts creating events on this end.

In general, I want to keep evaluating Ružić on defense. I have a pretty low bar for first-year 17-year-old pros on this end, so I wasn’t too invested in his defensive tape last season. Then, we haven’t seen enough this year. I’ll be tracking how Ružić helps on pick-and-rolls and how he holds up on switches, since I think those will be his most common spots.

Johann Grünloh (Germany 🇩🇪 / Rasta Vechta)

DRAFT EVALUATION: Undrafted or contextual second rounder

NBA ROLE: Play finishing bench big

REMINDS ME OF: Luke Kornet

Johann Grünloh is a 19-year-old German big playing for Rasta Vechta in the Bundesliga. He already featured in 37 league games last season, averaging 6.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 1.0 blocks, and 0.4 steals in 19.6 minutes.

His game is an easy sell: he’s 6-foot-10ish, shoots and makes threes (12/31 3P, 36/50 FT for the season all competitions so far … 7/24 3P, 67/96 FT last season all competitions), can play out of the pick-and-roll (1.088 PPP last season² on 24/38 FG), and blocks shots (36 blocks in 18 games). However, Grünloh is a limited mover with huge defensive questions and limitations. On offense, he does not bring any self-creation to the table, and he’s not a plus athlete when it comes to play in traffic or finishing above the rim.

I’m not really into Grünloh as an NBA big. That said, I think the German prospect can be of contextual interest for mid/late second round teams who: hold an interest in bigs who shoot, don’t need short-term contributions from rookies or young players, and/or can leave him stashed abroad for now to later revisit in subsequent Summer Leagues, etc.

That’s certainly a limited context, but it exists to an extent (Nikola Djurisic, Melvin Ajinça in 2024; Tristan Vukcevic, James Nnaji in 2023; Gabriele Procida, Khalifa Diop, Ismael Kamagate, Karlo Matkovic, Yannick Nzosa, Hugo Besson in 2022; Rokas Jokubaitis, Juhann Begarin, Filip Petrusev in 2021…). I’ll mention here that Matkovic and Vukcevic joining the New Orleans Pelicans and the Washington Wizards systems mid-season is an interesting pathway.

From the teams’ perspective, though, the return on investment hasn’t existed — at least on the court. I’m personally very skeptical of draft-and-stash situations working out nowadays.

I’m looking at Grünloh In the Luke Kornet mold and role as a big who can shoot threes and block shots but needs to be entirely set up by others. Plus, he’s stiff and upright with a high center of gravity. That leaves a lot of defensive questions at the NBA level. Even now, this can be problematic in Germany despite the shotblocking. Betting on Grünloh is really believing that his shot can offset his defensive limitations — and that these can be hidden or worked on to an acceptable level — in limited, energy minutes.

1. Per RealGM

2. Synergy, via Swish Theory