The next Nikola Jokic? The NBA 2023/24 rookies looking to follow in the footsteps of international giants
Ahead of the NBA 2023-2024 season start, Olympics.com runs the rule over the international prospects from the 2023 NBA Draft class who could make an impact.
Basketball
It is no secret that the NBA has always been a draw for international talent.
North America’s premier men’s basketball league invites those with the skills to make it, to take on one of the most gruelling sporting marathons, and out of its unforgiving furnace some of the world’s greatest sporting icons are made.
Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, and Giannis Antetokounmpo are among the current crop of imported talent dominating the league and giving hope to the next generation that they too can one day be like them.
Ahead of the 2023-2024 season start, Olympics.com considers five 2023 NBA Draft picks that have the potential to shake up the league order like their predecessors.
Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs
Ever since the world locked eyes on Victor Wembanyama in action on a basketball court, the hype that has pursued the 19-year-old Frenchman has been relentless.
Selected as the number one overall pick of the 2023 NBA Draft by the San Antonio Spurs,‘Wemby’, as he has become known, has been tied to all-manner of basketball legends not least LeBron James, who called the France center ‘an alien’ after first watching him play.
From his shot-blocking to his ball-handling, Wembanyama comes to the NBA is an exciting package brimming with potential.
A wizard on the court, and a motor engine for debate off it, Wembanyama’s impact on this season will be seismic no matter what he does. And with ambitions to compete at Paris 2024 at the season’s end, France will also be watching their prodigy closely.
Bilal Coulibaly during media day for the Washington Wizards
Bilal Coulibaly, Washington Wizards
For every Batman, there is typically a Robin, but this former sidekick has the capacity to step out of the shadows and become his own hero.
Interest in Bilal Coulibaly, also from France and selected as the seventh overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, emerged out of Wembanyama, but his rapid rise began before his connection to the phenom.
The 19-year-old started his 2022-23 season playing for the Metropolitans’ 92 U21 team in France but such was his dominance he was promoted to the senior side and by April, he was starring alongside Wembanyama as a game-changer.
If it has all come startlingly fast the Frenchman, who was one of the biggest risers in the 2023 NBA Draft, the teenager seems to be unfazed.
And now he is even pushing for a starting spot in the Wizards’ line-up having made a significant impression after being given the nod in their recent exhibition game win over the Cairns Taipans of Australia’s National Basketball League.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. warming up ahead of a preseason game against the Charlotte Hornets
Jaime Jaquez Jr., Miami Heat
Selected as the 18th pick of the 2023 NBA Draft, Jaime Jaquez Jr. arrives at the Miami Heat as one of the most complete rookies from his class.
The 1.98m (6-foot-7) 22-year-old, who attended UCLA for four years, displayed in the Summer League the kind of versatility that could see him earn a rotation role as early as this season and it was something noted by the rest of the field.
In the NBA’s Annual GM survey, Jaquez Jr was tied for second as an answer to the question: Which rookie was the biggest steal at where he was selected in the Draft? He received 10 per cent of the vote along with Scoot Henderson (3) and Keyonte George (16).
If the hype around his talent wasn’t enough, then Jaquez Jr is sure to attract attention for his heritage.
With his selection, he became the first Mexican to go in the first round of the NBA Draft and the third-ever to be picked after Eduardo Najera and Manuel Raga. Having already represented Mexico at the Pan American Games in 2019, the future for Mexican basketball could look bright with Jaquez Jr at the helm.
Olivier-Maxence Prosper in action for the Dallas Mavericks during the second half of the preseason NBA game against the Minnesota Timberwolves
Olivier-Maxence Prosper, Dallas Mavericks
Selected with the 24th overall pick of the 2023 NBA Draft, Canadian Olivier-Maxence Prosper is a rookie to watch.
A second-generation basketball player with his mother, Guylaine, having represented Canada, Prosper, known as ‘O-Max’ is already showing maturity beyond his years.
An alumnus of the NBA Academy, Prosper spent his freshman year at Clemson before transferring to Marquette for two seasons. During the 2022-23 season, he came alive, averaging 12.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, leading Marquette to a No.2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
His grit to perform shone through in the pre-Draft workouts and his stock immediately rose. That determination could be the making of Prosper this season, and he will get to train alongside two of the best scorers in Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic.
Mouhamed Gueye has already impressed his Atlanta Hawk team-mates
Mouhamed Gueye, Atlanta Hawks
At 16, Mouhamed Gueye packed his bags and left Senegal in pursuit of a hoops career despite having never played organised basketball.
Four years later the Senegalese was selected as the 39th overall pick of the 2023 NBA Draft.
His ascent up the sport's rank has been nothing short of remarkable but the center, who started off playing soccer, still has much more to give. In the Summer League, fans were impressed by the flashes of Gueye's potential. In 24.1 minutes he averaged across five games, he produced 9.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.4 blocks and 0.6 steals.
And if the numbers aren't enough to persuade, then the praise already coming from his team-mates at the Hawks seems only to confirm that Gueye has a bright future ahead.
Speaking to The Point Podcast, Trae Young, one of the league's most prolific scorers, said: “Mo, one of our rookies, a lot of people might not know who he is right now but he’s going to be somebody that a lot of people know going forward”