2025 Draft Ranks: Center, Tier 3
The Basketball Notebook is back for the 2025 NBA draft. Over the course of the next month, I’ll be releasing tiered rankings by position, culminating in a final overall big board in mid to late June.
Links to Previously Released Rankings:
On-Ball Guard (Tier 1) / On-Ball Guard (Tier 2) / On-Ball Guard (Tier 3) / On-Ball Guard (Tier 4)
Wing Guard (Tier 1) / Wing Guard (Tier 2) / Wing Guard (Tier 3) / Wing Guard (Tier 4)
Wing Forward (Tier 1/1.5) / Wing Forward (Tier 2) / Wing Forward (Tier 3) / Wing Forward (Tier 4)
Big (Tier 1) / Big (Tier 2) / Big (Tier 3)
Center (Tier 1) / Center (Tier 2)
Click here for a few important reminders about how I structure my rankings and write-ups.
TIER 3:
Ryan Kalkbrenner / Creighton
Height/Wingspan: 7’2” / 7’6”
Rookie Season Age: 24
Player Type: Space Eater / Drop Coverage Rim Protector
Game Reminds Me Of: Timofey Mozgov / Luke Kornet
The four-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year, Kalkbrenner was a highly decorated college player. With a knack for rim protection and some ability to space the floor on offense, he’s an intriguing prospect in spite of his age and limited athleticism.
Kalkbrenner was an efficient scorer this past season (68.4% true shooting). With his size and strength, he’s nearly impossible to deny around the basket. Kalkbrenner averaged 1.57 points per field goal attempt at the rim (98th percentile) and recorded 104 dunks in 35 games. He’s good at seeking out opportunities for deep seals in the paint and he’s got above-average hands to corral post entry passes. However, he’s slow to get off the floor and much better going over his left shoulder than his right. He should be able to punish switches with duck-ins and offensive rebounds, but I don’t foresee NBA teams looking to run offense through him on the block.
Kalkbrenner was an effective roll man (1.32 points per possession, 86th percentile) at Creighton. He’s not going to beat anyone down the lane, but he’s a good screener and eats up space within the paint. Kalkbrenner doesn’t have amazing touch with his floater, so he needs to get all the way to the basket before he’s a threat to score.
Kalkbrenner’s shooting ability is his biggest x-factor. He made 34.4% of his threes in his final college season but attempted just 1.8 per 36 minutes. Kalkbrenner has a slow release, but he’s so tall that it’s still difficult for defenders to bother him. He’s much more effective with his feet set than when forced off his spot. Kalkbrenner made 45.7% of his spot-up attempts, compared to just 30.8% out of pick-and-pop. I don’t think Kalkbrenner is going to be a significant factor from beyond the arc in the NBA because it won’t make sense for most teams to have him spotted up off the ball. However, it’s a part of his game that could continue to develop.
When Kalkbrenner is positioned in front of the rim, he’s very difficult to score on. He averaged 2.8 blocks per 36 minutes last year, and led the Big East in blocked shots in each of the past three seasons. He also limited opponents to 0.33 points per possession on post ups (99th percentile efficiency), and he’s not going to be outmuscled by many players. My concerns with Kalkbrenner center around his lack of foot speed. He’s limited to playing strictly drop coverage against ball screens, and he’s going to have difficulty with opponents that can drag him out to the perimeter. That lack of versatility will limit his nightly impact, but in the right matchups he can be a force on the interior.
As a player with distinct strengths and weaknesses, the use case for Kalkbrenner is clear. He’s not the right fit for every roster and shouldn’t be expected to contribute every game. However, Kalkbrenner should provide useful depth in a center rotation throughout the course of a long NBA season.
Projected NBA Role: Rotational Reserve
NBA Upside: Quality Reserve
Hansen Yang / Qingdao Eagles (China)
Height/Wingspan: 7’2” / 7’3”
Rookie Season Age: 20
Player Type: Skilled Post Scorer
Game Reminds Me Of: Jusuf Nurkić / Zydrunas Ilgauskas
Yang is probably the best prospect to come out of China since Yi Jianlian in 2007. He’s a fundamentally sound scorer and passer from the post but a below-average athlete.
Yang received plenty of touches on the block with Qingdao (30.4% of his possessions were post-ups), and he was pretty efficient in those opportunities (0.99 points per possession, 74th percentile). He can score over both shoulders and shows advanced footwork for a young big. Yang has soft touch around the basket (1.48 points per shot attempt at the rim), and he’s comfortable from the mid and upper paint when forced off the block.
Yang’s coordination and footwork help him to be effective as a roll man as well. He’s very patient when he catches the ball in the lane, which keeps him from being forced into difficult shot attempts. Because he’s neither an explosive mover nor a quick downhill mover, Yang may have trouble getting all the way to the basket in the NBA.
Qingdao ran offense through Yang not only for his scoring, but also his playmaking. He averaged 3.1 assists per 36 minutes with the Eagles last season. Yang likes to operate as a passer from the elbows, where he’s got good vision finding cutters. He’s also got good instincts from the post, but he’s turnover prone (23.6% turnover rate on post ups). Ball pressure is a major issue for Yang, as he’s not yet strong enough to protect his dribble with consistency.
That lack of physicality shows up on the defensive end as well with Yang getting bullied for early post position. He also has trouble with quickness, as he has stiff hips that prevent him from working through his lower body. Yang is better against ball screens and has pretty good instincts guarding both his man and the ball in drop coverage. He can be effective as a rim protector when he’s in position (3 blocks per 36 minutes). Yang is going to struggle to guard on the perimeter, and his lack of mobility can make it difficult for him to rotate and stop drivers.
It’s difficult to evaluate the leap from the Chinese Basketball Association to the NBA as there is a sizable difference in athleticism and pace of play between the two leagues. Yang’s skill level and touch around the rim should translate, but he may not be mobile enough to be impactful on either end of the floor.
Projected NBA Role: G-League/Two-Way
NBA Upside: Quality Reserve
Yanic Konan Niederhauser / Penn St.
Height/Wingspan: 7’0” / 7’3”
Rookie Season Age: 22
Player Type: Low-Post Bruiser
Game Reminds Me Of: Andre Drummond / Moses Brown
Originally from Switzerland, Niederhauser spent two seasons with Northern Illinois before transferring to Penn St. for his junior year. Niederhauser possesses NBA size and athleticism but his feel for the game is a work in progress.
Niederhauser is a fluid mover who runs the court with ease. He averaged 1.46 points per possession in transition (95th percentile) and 1.34 points per possession as a roll man (88th percentile). Although he’s not a quick leaper, he can elevate well above the rim for lobs when he has time to load up. He’s also very physical in the paint looking to duck-in and seal his man. With his willingness to throw his weight around, Niederhauser could become a weapon on the offensive glass.
Although Niederhauser can do some damage from the post, he struggles to understand when is the right time to search out his own shot. He’s got black-hole tendencies when he catches on the block, as it’s rare that he’ll kick the ball back out even when he gets double-teamed. Niederhauser can string together multiple moves in the post but he doesn’t have a great feel for when to pull them out. He frequently gets his shot blocked because he can’t sense when the defense is collapsing on him.
Niederhauser’s lack of court-awareness is particularly prevalent on the defensive end. Although his size, leaping ability (37” vertical) and foot speed allow him to make some highlight-reel plays, he’s not consistent. He’s a low-effort player off the ball, which impacts his ability to rotate as a help defender. He’s a poor defender in the post, often because he loses positioning before his man even catches the ball. With better coaching and more high-level reps, Niederhauser should develop into a more impactful defensive presence. However, physical gifts can only get him so far, and his IQ and instincts have a long way to go.
Niederhauser physically looks the part of an NBA center, and he’s skilled enough to take a flier on. He’ll almost certainly need some G-League work before he’s ready to impact winning, but an organization that prides itself on player development should be interested by his raw tools.
Projected NBA Role: G-League/Two-Way
NBA Upside: Quality Reserve
CENTER RANKINGS:
Honorable Mentions: Rocco Zikarsky (Australia), Amari Williams (Kentucky), Maxime Raynaud (Stanford), Vladislav Goldin (Michigan), Lachlan Olbrich (Australia), Viktor Lakhin (Clemson), Izan Almansa (Australia)