The 2025 NBA draft combine is the place to be for league scouts, executives, and media over the past week, as a highly talented pool of players has taken the court in Chicago to participate in athletic testing and scrimmages.
For nearly all the participants, it’s the most important week of their basketball lives to date, as they perform under the microscope — some for the first time in America. Others are testing the draft waters and maintaining their NCAA eligibility, have outperformed expectations, and have an intriguing decision to make.
With all that coming into consideration, which players have stuck out the most and improved their draft stock the highest during the draft combine?
2025 NBA Draft Combine Biggest Risers
Yang Hansen, China
Largely unknown heading into the combine, Yang Hansen has shown out during his first opportunity to perform in front of NBA personnel. Standing 7’1″ with a 9’3″ standing reach, the Chinese center looked massive on the court next to other prospects. While he moved slower than others, which is to be expected, he showed a tremendous feel for the game during the scrimmages, finding open teammates out of the post.
Though he struggled at times moving his feet on the perimeter, Yang’s bread and butter is protecting the rim on the defensive end of the floor. Though he didn’t stuff the stat sheet with blocks, he changed multiple shots and persuaded opponents from attacking the paint with him down low.
Overall, Yang’s performance has been far and away the biggest surprise throughout the entire combine. His soft touch around the rim, combined with a deceptively good ability to create for others, inspires belief that a team would take a flier on him in the second round after previously projecting as either withdrawing his name or going undrafted.
Tahaad Pettiford, Auburn
Following up a strong freshman season as the sixth man for the Auburn Tigers, Tahaad Pettiford is testing the draft process waters before deciding whether or not to return to school. He made that decision even harder on himself with an excellent performance during the scrimmage on Wednesday, May 14, scoring 23 points and dishing out eight assists while nailing four of his eight triples.
The day before, Pettiford showcased his athleticism, leading the guards with a max vertical leap of 42″ while measuring among the best in the lane agility drill with a time of 10.63 seconds.
Pettiford is still raw at just 19 years old and didn’t play a ton of minutes on a stacked Auburn team a year ago. But his dynamic athletic ability, 3-point shooting stroke, and comfort level running the offense will be enticing for several teams picking in the first round if he decides to stay in the draft.
Yanic Konan Niederhäuser, Penn State
Also facing a decision, as he has another year of eligibility with the Nittany Lions, Yanic Konan Niederhäuser stood out during the G League Elite Camp — so much so that he earned an invite to the combine. Previously not garnering much consideration on draft boards, he’s continued his upward trajectory, especially during the athletic testing.
At 6’11 1/4″, 242.6 pounds, Konan Niederhäuser’s 33.5″ standing vertical was the second-best mark at the entire combine, an impressive feat as no other center topped 29″. In addition, he was also tops among centers in the shuttle run (2.84 seconds) and three-quarter court sprint (3.20 seconds).
Projecting as an athletic rim-running, shot-blocking big man, it was hard for the Penn Stater to get involved much during the scrimmages. However, the NBA is always looking for players of his make-up who can complement stars and finish in the pick-and-roll. If his stock continues to climb, it wouldn’t be surprising for Konan Niederhäuser to stay in the draft and have his name called in the mid-second round.
Egor Demin, BYU
Oftentimes, players who are already considered a lottery pick have a hard time standing out at the draft combine or changing minds in any meaningful way. But that wasn’t the case for Demin, who measured extremely well.
Known for his positional versatility as an oversized point guard, the former BYU Cougar measured in at 6’8 1/4″ without shoes, meaning his on-court height is easily over 6’9″ and likely pushing 6’10”. Coming in, outside shooting was the biggest concern, but he helped his case greatly by nailing a reported 16 3-pointers in 35 seconds.
A Russian native, Demin ran the show as a freshman for BYU and distributed the ball at a high rate (5.5 assists) but struggled at times to score (10.6 points). But if he continues to show improvement with his 3-ball, teams will take notice as lead guards with positional size and a requisite jumper have had great success in the modern NBA.
Maxime Raynaud, Stanford
The 7’0 1/4″ center for the Stanford Cardinal, Maxime Raynaud, had as good of a senior season as he could, but he entered the combine with questions about his agility and impact as a pro. However, he quieted those concerns and may have bumped himself into first-round territory after a solid showing.
On the testing stage, Raynaud finished first among centers in lane agility (11.31 seconds), second in three-quarter court sprint (3.23 seconds), fourth in standing vertical leap (28″), and fourth in max vertical leap (31.5″).
He directly backed up those numbers during Wednesday’s scrimmage, as he showed an increased comfort level playing on the perimeter and attacking his man with finesse and a deceptively quick first step. He protected the paint at a good enough level defensively for teams to be confident he wouldn’t have to be hidden on that side of the court.
Raynaud now sits firmly on the line of the first and second rounds after a beneficial week for his stock.
I really hope Orlando magic would draft one of these big guys