Timberwolves draft 7-foot-3 center from Australia as one of tallest players in NBA

The Minnesota Timberwolves drafted one center in the first round, Joan Beringer.

They got even taller in the second round.

With the No. 45 overall pick, they took Rocco Zikarsky out of Australia. He's 7-foot-3.

That makes him the third-tallest player in the NBA, behind Zach Edey and Victor Wembanyama.

Zikarsky has played for Brisbane in the NBL for the past two seasons. Players of his age rarely see big minutes in the Australian pro league, and he was no exception.

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In 2024-25, Zikarsky avearaged 11.8 minutes per game.

He was effective in the limited action, shooting 52.4% from the floor and averaging 4.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 0.6 blocks per game.

He certainly looked the part in the highlight reel shown on the ESPN draft broadcast.

In Minnesota, he'll get the chance to learn from historically effective defensive center Rudy Gobert.

Zikarsky may never be a scorer at the NBA level, but if he can use his length to be an impactful defender, that'll be plenty valuable for a mid-second-round pick.

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