2025 NBA Draft: Yanic Konan Niederhauser Scouting Report

Evaluating the Penn State and Switzerland center ahead of the 2025 NBA Draft.

— This is a guest post written by Harry Zhang.

DRAFT EVALUATION: Late first (No. 23-30)

LAST BIG BOARD: N/R

NBA ROLE: Two-way center

REMINDS ME OF: Jericho Sims, Jaxson Hayes, Drew Eubanks, Daniel Gafford

RAW STATS: 12.9 PTS, 6.3 REB (2.1o), 0.8 AST to 1.7 TOV, 0.7 STL, 2.3 BLK, 2.5 PF in 25.1 MINS in 29 GAMES

ADVANCED STATS: 4.9 BPM, 2.6 DBPM, 22.9 USG%, 63.1 TS%, 10.1 OREB%, 19.9 DREB%, 6.1 AST%, 16.1 TOV%, 0.5 A/TO, 1.5 STL%, 10.2 BLK%

Background:

— Background by Wilko Martínez-Cachero.

• BIRTHDAY: March 14, 2003

• HEIGHT: 6-foot-11¼ barefoot

• WINGSPAN: 7-foot-3¼

• STANDING REACH: 9-foot-3

• WEIGHT: 243 pounds

• Born in Bern; grew up in Fräschels, Switzerland — a tiny village, population less than 500. Father Dominique reportedly speaks German, mother has roots in the Ivory Coast. Would become the first Swiss-German NBA player.

  • He said: "[Middle name Konan] means warrior. My father also thought of the character Conan the Barbarian, who was played by Arnold Schwarzenegger. In everyday life, I'm Yanic, I have a calm temperament. But on the pitch, I'm Konan. I fight to get where I want to be - with confidence and without arrogance."

• Started playing basketball when he was 10 for Union Neuchâtel. Later played for Fribourg Olympic. Moved to Germany when he was 15.

• In 2021-22 season, played with the Ehingen Urspring club in Germany. Spent time on their youth team and their senior team. The latter competed in the German Pro A League. Averaged 2 points, 1.7 rebounds, 0.2 assists, 0.8 blocks in 6 games (62 total minutes).

• Plays for the Switzerland national team. Debuted for the senior team for the 2025 EuroBasket pre-qualifiers. Prior to that, played for Switzerland at 2021 U-18 European Challengers, 2022 U-20 Euros (Division B), and 2023 U-20 Euros (Division B).

  • 2021 U-18: 10.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists in 3 games

  • 2022 U-20: 6.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.4 assists in 7 games

  • 2023 U-20: 7.7 points, 4.4 rebounds, 0.9 assists in 7 games

• Represented by Sévag Keucheyan since 2019. Has reportedly worked out for the Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers, Toronto Raptors, Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks, and Washington Wizards (twice).

• Big growth spurt when he was 17-ish. Suffered a “suffered a serious knee injury and had to stay in bed for ten months.” Grew 10 centimeters (4ish inches), then added another 8 (3ish). Didn’t dunk until he was 18. Improved his athleticism a lot after moving stateside.

• Practiced judo growing up. Favorite player was Russell Westbrook. Has always followed LeBron James. Watches Anthony Davis.

• In college, spent two seasons at Northern Illinois before transferring to Penn State:

Takeaway:

Yanic Konan Niederhauser is a junior from Penn State who averaged 12.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.7 steals, and 2.3 blocks in 25.1 minutes. He was a late riser in the draft process following impressive performances at the G League Elite Camp and NBA Draft Combine. On top of his great physical measurements listed above, he led centers with a 33.5-inch standing vertical leap and a 37.0-inch max vertical leap.

Niederhauser has all the tools to be a successful two-way center in the NBA. He has a decent size for an NBA big man, and is super athletic and fairly mobile. He is an elite shot blocker at the college level (2.3 blocks per game, 10.2 BLK%) thanks to his size and very good vertical pop. Niederhauser is especially good from the help side, forcing opponents to alter their shots.

His athleticism also translates to the offensive end, making him one of the best lob threats in this class. He is very effective as a roller in general, and offers some flashes of a post-up and face-up game that indicates a higher ceiling than simply a high-flying, rim-running big. Personally, I think the post-up game is a little closer to a regular weapon than the face-up game. Although most bigs no longer post-up in today’s NBA, I do think that his back-to-the-basket game is going to translate. Many of his post-up attempts come from his rolls to the rim and transition offense when he seals a smaller defender to get to his spots.

While length and athleticism are good things, Niederhauser tends to over-rely on his length and athleticism. The 22-year-old doesn’t box out all that often. He is also not that disciplined on the defensive end, averaging 2.5 fouls in 25.1 minutes. While Niederhauser has made strides on foul control (fun stat: he averaged 2.2 fouls in 7.6 minutes as a freshman; that is, 11.5 fouls per 40 minutes), major improvements on his defensive discipline, habits, and positioning are still needed.

To me, this is the most crucial factor if Niederhauser is going to carve out a successful NBA career. The Penn State center’s handle is shaky and his passing/processing is behind, but even without those skills, I would still strongly consider him in the late first to early second range because of his defensive upside and efficiency as a finisher.

---

Xiaohan Zhang, Harry, is a basketball lover studying anthropology in Hong Kong. He is dreaming of becoming a scout.

Article edited by Wilko Martínez-Cachero.