Steal of the draft? Wolves' second-rounder was once a projected lottery pick

Most American basketball fans likely weren't very familiar with Timberwolves second-round pick Rocco Zikarsky when he was drafted 45th overall on Thursday night, but at one point in the pre-draft process, he was projected to go as high as the top 10.

A Bleacher Report 2025 NBA mock draft from NBA Draft Insider Jonathan Wasserman on August 12, 2024, slotted Zikarsky as the seventh overall pick.

"Offensively, touch around the basket and flashes of face-up drives create some optimism. But realistically, the draw to Zikarsky right now is on his interior defensive impact," he wrote.

Standing at 7-foot-4 with shoes, Zikarsky would be the third-tallest player in the NBA behind only Zach Edey and Victory Wembenyama. He doesn't turn 19 years old until next month, and he's still relatively new to basketball, so it makes sense why he was viewed so highly heading into the 2024-25 season.

Different mock drafts from Sports Illustrated, givemesport.com, and more ranked him in the top 10 before the season. Scouts likely thought they would see more from him in the 2024-25 season, but he averaged only 4.6 points and 3.4 rebounds per game for the Brisbane Bullets in the New Zealand Basketball League (NBL).

Reports indicate that Zikarsky will be joining Minnesota on a two-way contract, which will likely involve a lot of time developing in the G-League with the Iowa Wolves. He's deep on the frontcourt depth chart behind Rudy Gobert, Naz Reid, Julius Randle, Luka Garza, and now Joan Beringer, so we probably won't see him in an NBA game anytime soon.

There's likely a long developmental road before Zikarsky finds his way into an NBA rotation, but he might have as high of long-term potential as anyone selected in the second round of this year's draft.