With the NCAA and other leagues worldwide officially in full swing and the NBA season approaching its halfway point, NBA scouts are now hard at work looking for their teams’ next potential star and core pieces. As a part of Sports Business Classroom’s 2024 NBA Draft series, the following are European prospects to watch ahead of June’s draft.

The 2024 European class is one of the largest in recent years, with three players likely headed for the lottery. There’s also some depth to this class in the second-round/undrafted category, with several who already contribute highly at a professional level, giving a slight edge over second-round collegiate prospects who haven’t played yet against grown men. A perceived lower talent level in this year’s draft may push more prospects to declare, and sleepers emerge later.   

Zaccharie Risacher and Nikola Topic have been on the radar for quite some time and have kind of separated themselves as top picks on most draft boards as the more complete European players of this class, while Tidjane Salaun is climbing up the ladder as one of the most exciting prospects who is just scratching the surface of his potential. 

Two prospects with a legit chance of getting drafted in the second round are German Ulm’s Spaniard Juan Nunez and Frenchman Pacome Dadiet. Nunez is among his generation’s most heralded European prospects, but his fit in the NBA raises question marks due to his defensive limitations and lack of shooting. Dadiet is far from a finished product, but unlike Nunez, he looks like a player who is built to play in a free-flowing NBA style rather than the complex tactical systems of European basketball. Melvin Ajinca is another name mentioned in draft circles because of his combination of shooting and athleticism. Eli Ndiaye starts some games for Real Madrid, arguably the best basketball team outside the NBA. Nikola Djurisic is dropping down the board after being a potential first-round pick last year, but he still deserves consideration.

First Round

  1. Zaccharie Risacher – Bourg-en-Bresse (France)
  2. Nikola Topic – Red Star (Serbia)
  3. Tidjane Salaun – Cholet (France)

Second Round

  1. Pacome Dadiet – Ratiopharm Ulm (Germany)
  2. Juan Nunez – Ratiopharm Ulm (Germany)
  3. Melvin Ajinca – Saint-Quentin (France)

Undrafted/G League

  1. Nikola Djurisic – Mega (Serbia)
  2. Eli Ndiaye – Real Madrid (Spain)
  3. Ousmane Ndiaye – Palencia (Spain)
  4. Yannick Kraag – Joventut (Spain)
  5. Andrej Jelavic – Mega (Serbia) 

Risacher is a complete package of a modern wing and ticks many boxes for most teams. His combination of size (6’10”), shooting (46 percent from three) and stellar defense makes him a plug-and-play 3&D win. He’s a Swiss Army knife who flies around the court while retaining his efficiency despite moderate usage.

Topic is a high-level playmaker with great positional size (6’6, 200 lbs) and basketball IQ beyond his age. He is a master pick-and-roll operator who can manipulate defenses with a change of speed, make advance reads, and drive through traffic, finishing with extreme efficiency at the basket (around 70 percent this season) and potentially drawing fouls at a high rate. He crushed the Adriatic league, averaging nearly nineteen points and seven assists in the first half of this season on a loan assignment with Mega. Red Star claimed him back to help them run their offense in the Euroleague, which is a considerable responsibility for the 18-year-old.

Every year, there is a prospect that comes out of nowhere. Like Bilal Coulibaly last year, Salaun is one of the biggest risers of this year’s European class. Salaun has been called the “French Giannis,” and you can tell why. His combination of size and fluidity makes him scary in open court, and just like Antetokounmpo in his younger years, he has a lot of untapped potential. 

Dadiet is an exciting prospect with a high offensive upside. He is a bucket-getter. He’s a big, athletic forward who can put the ball on the floor, score one-on-one, and provide an off-ball scoring option with spot-up shooting and cutting. Despite converting only 33 percent from three this season, you can buy into his shot long-term, as he’s very consistent with his release and has the size to shoot over smaller defenders. Dadiet is raw compared to other European prospects on this list but showed some promising flashes throughout the season.

Nunez is one of the most creative passers of his generation. He has excellent vision and advanced passing skills that allow him to consistently break down defenses and create open looks for his teammates. Nunez is an excellent live-dribble passer who can push the pace and thread a needle with a dime. He plays with joy, a bit too flashy at times, but his playmaking style reminds of European maestros like Milos Teodosic and Sergio Rodriguez.