Raptors NBA Draft option at 39th overall: Yanic Konan Niederhauser
The following is part of Raptors Republic’s series of pieces previewing the 2025 NBA draft. You can find all the pieces in the series here.
One of the best athletes in the class, and one of the best all-time athletes from the centre position, Yanic Konan Niederhauser should be a potential target for the Toronto Raptors at 39th overall.
While his draft range is rather large right now, landing in the 39th slot is a realistic option, also given the fact that Toronto also needs a big.
Niederhauser is on track to become the fourth Swiss player ever drafted into the NBA, after rising and becoming one of the biggest winners of the pre-draft process. The Fraschels, Switzerland native, received a combine invite along with Mackenzie Mgbako (Indiana), Tamar Bates (Missouri), Lachlan Olbrich (Illawarra/Australia), and Aurora, Ontario native Ryan Nembhard (Gonzaga) after showing out at the G League Elite Camp.
He continued to put on a show at the combine.
The measurements:
Starting with Niederhauser’s measurements, which are one of the easiest reasons to fall in love with his game. The 22-year-old came in at 6-foot-11 and a quarter without shoes on while weighing in at 243 pounds. He has a rangy 7-foot-3 and a quarter wingspan while boasting a 9-foot-3 standing reach.
Niederhauser also tested extremely well, posting a 37-inch max vertical leap, which was three inches larger than the next true big (Izan Almansa) and a 33.5-inch standing vertical, both fantastic numbers. The junior also put up an elite shuttle run and a well above average lane agility time. The big man posted a 2.84-second shuttle run, the 10th-best time at the 2025 combine, while putting up an 11.45-second lane agility score.
The numbers:
After spending his freshman and sophomore seasons at Northern Illinois, Niederhauser had a big year in his one and only season at Penn State. He averaged career highs across the board, including points (12.9), rebounds (6.3), blocks (2.3), assists (0.8), and steals (0.7) while shooting 61.1 percent from the field (led Penn State), 9.1 percent from distance, and 66.4 percent from the free throw line.
In conference play, for what it’s worth, Niederhauser averaged 11.6 points, 5.8 rebounds (1.8 offensive rebounds), 2.5 blocks, 0.8 assists, and 0.7 steals while shooting 57.9 percent from the field and 69.0 percent from the free throw line.
Across the entire season, his rim protection was fantastic, as the Nittany Lions’ 2.3 blocks led the Big 10 en route to claiming an All-Big Ten Honourable Mention (media), while being 12th in Division I. He was also one of four high-major players to have a block percentage of at least 10, and the only one in this class who hit that mark.
Out of the 13 high-major players who have had a block percentage of at least 10 (10.2), a steal percentage of 1.5 (1.5) and 50 (58 total) dunks or more, eight of them have played serious NBA minutes, including two on the Raptors (Anthony Davis, Dereck Lively, Walker Kessler, Christian Koloko, Chris Boucher, Robert Williams, Mo Bamba, Jaxson Hayes), per KJ Hoops.
His level of finishing plays offensively is great as well; those 58 total dunks were good enough for the 11th most across high-major schools, his 63.1 true shooting percentage was 50th, and his 69.2 percent on close 2-pointers (126/182) was top 100.
Overall, Niederhauser’s levels of play at the rim on both ends of the floor are something that hasn’t been done in the high major often.
He also showed other flashes offensively as well, while being a great finisher in transition.
As a roll man in pick and roll, he finished in the 88th percentile while setting physical screens and playing with good pace.
In transition, he is fast and rangy in the open floor, finishing in the 95th percentile in transition offence. Toronto wants to push it, and Niederhauser would benefit in this aspect.
With the ball in his hands, Niederhauser showed flashes of handling along the perimeter and creating for himself. Per KJ Hoops, the big shot 60 percent on self-created perimeter looks on 16 attempts, using his speed and decent handle to blow past slower bigs. Ultimately, it was just flashes, as there was only a limited number of reps, finishing with a negative 1-to-2 assist-to-turnover ratio.
The 3-point shooting is yet to come around, however.
Niederhauser was only 1-for-11 (9.1 percent) from distance this past season, while only being 11-of-51 (21.6 percent) throughout his collegiate career.
“Slow on the load up. Looks decent up top on the release, but he’s pushing through, [his] power is coming from his arms rather than his legs,” said a scout on Niederhauser’s 3-point shot.
“So there’s work required on his energy transfer overall.”
There are some positive’s however, as most recently Niederhauser finished 14-of-25 from distance in the G League Elite Camp spot-shooting drill.
He also has some other touch indicators, including being in the 80th percentile in hook shots, though the career free-throw percentage sits at 64.8 percent (138-213).
How he fits:
Toronto needs some big depth; that much is obvious. The question is, do they want this type of big man on the squad?
In Darko Rajakovic’s offence, having a big man who can play with the ball in his hands, put the ball on the floor, and run dribble handoffs is preferred. While Niederhauser didn’t do much of that consistently or that well overall, he wouldn’t be starting from zero in this regard.
There is also a very good chance Toronto just takes a big at No.9, drastically decreasing Niederhauser’s chances of being selected by Toronto.
While he doesn’t fit perfectly into Rajakovic’s “0.5 system,” at this point in the draft, taking a phenomenal athlete who is good at what he does and fills a need is about all you can ask for.
He’s super coordinated, has a massive catch radius, great hand-eye coordination, and dunks everything. Niederhauser would provide immense vertical spacing along with creating gravity off his rolls, which is something Toronto has missed and gives them a different look. He’s a fluid mover, physical, and if he puts it together, he could easily be a key rotation piece or even start in the NBA.
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