The NBA season is a long way away, but summer ball fans ate good in the summer of 2025.
EuroBasket delivered everything that fans could want, including standout performances from the usual suspects. Nikola Jokić, Luka Dončić, and Lauri Markkanen paced the incredible field of a constantly growing international game, and we might have just witnessed the rising over a basketball powerhouse in Alperen Şengün's Turkish national squad.
And if you look under the surface, there was plenty of star power lurking as well. Multiple players made their case for a spot in the best league in the world, and NBA scouts were out in droves looking to fill out their rosters with potential unseen talent.
These are just some of the breakout stars from EuroBasket 2025 that made a case for an NBA debut.
1. Miikka Muurinen, Finland
Now, let's be clear: despite a glowing review of his debut performance, Miikka Muurinen did not lead Finland to the EuroBasket semis. Finland is Lauri Markkanen's team, and for good reason (23.1 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.1 steals per game).
But you don't get the nickname Slim Jesus for nothing. Because while Muurinen didn't play much as a literal high schooler, what drew scouts' eyes wasn't his scoring, but how he went about it. Muurinen isn't even draft-eligible until 2027, and he wasn't afraid of smoke with the Antetokounmpo brothers. Let that sink in.
But the report did touch on the right thing: Muurinen did save his best basketball for last, playing the most minutes of his tournament outing in the semis against Germany to the tune of 3/4 shooting from 3. He's already a top-15 prospect in his draft class for good reason, and his stock should continue to climb after this summer.
2. Ercan Osmani, Turkey
Similarly to Finland, Turkey's leader and star is Alperen Şengün. But unlike Muurinen, Ercan Osmani is long into his professional career. But just because he's ineligible for the draft doesn't mean that NBA teams won't be drooling after him after how he led Turkey past Greece to get to the finals.
You heard that right. Despite placing a (distant) second behind Şengün in efficiency, points, and rebounds for the majority of the tournament, Turkey was Osmani's team against Greece in the semis, posting a career national team high of 28 points (with 6 3's) to go with 6 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block.
And the best part was that Osmani's scoring wasn't even the highlight of the game, but his All-World defense on Giannis Antetokounmpo (12 points and 5 rebounds on, 42.6 percent shooting). Osmani's two-way masterclass was the driver of the 94-68 rout, and has certainly earned the Rolex Şengün promised him. But more importantly, Osmani has also more than earned the eyes of NBA scouts wanting the inside track to making Giannis look mortal, age or no.
3. Saliou Niang, Italy
Hidden in the shadow of Miikka Muurinen and Finland's historic and highlight-filled EuroBasket run was another high-flying youngster, this time from Italy.
Saliou Niang has already "made the dream" of reaching the NBA, but he was largely viewed as a draft-and-stash prospect by the Cleveland Cavaliers after they apparently shocked the world by taking him with the 58th pick overall in the 2025 Draft.
But raw as he is, Niang performed admirably as Italy's de facto second option on offense while also finishing second on the team in blocks per game. And just like Muurinen, Niang's star power was driven by his athletic gifts, as evidenced by his player-of-the-game-worthy performance against Georgia in the group stages.
4. Sylvain Francisco, France
Oh, if only we could forget the last few seconds of France's tilt against Slovenia. Because if not for his boneheaded freebie layup to close the game, the headlines from that game would have been Sylvain Francisco's career night (32 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists).
Francisco's performance through EuroBasket 2025 was a bit of a modest one, but games like the explosion against Slovenia and his Round of 16 outing against Georgia should be proof enough that Francisco can truly hang with the best the world has to offer.