Rocco Zikarsky Scouting Report: The 7’3″ Australian Learning Behind Rudy Gobert
Rocco Zikarsky is 20 years old, 7 feet 3 inches tall, and already has five NBA games behind him. He spent last season blocking shots for the Iowa Wolves and this season he is the third center on the Minnesota Timberwolves, behind Rudy Gobert. This report covers what he has shown so far, what he still cannot do, and how seriously to take the idea that he could one day defend Victor Wembanyama.
Rocco Zikarsky at a glance
| Listed height | 7’3″ (221 cm) |
|---|---|
| Listed weight | 227 lb (257 lb at the 2025 draft combine) |
| Reach | 9’6.5″ standing reach, 7’4.75″ wingspan (combine) |
| Born | 2006, Queensland, Australia |
| Position | Center |
| Current team | Minnesota Timberwolves (two-way contract) and Iowa Wolves |
| Last season | 14.8 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.5 blocks in 42 G League games |
| NBA status | 5 NBA games. Drafted 45th overall in 2025 |
| Last checked | 9 October 2026 |
Who Is Rocco Zikarsky?
Zikarsky grew up in Queensland and came through Basketball Australia’s Centre of Excellence. In July 2023, at 17, he signed with the Brisbane Bullets as part of the NBL’s Next Stars program, the same route LaMelo Ball and Josh Giddey used. In 2024 he was named MVP of the Albert Schweitzer Tournament, the best-known under-18 event in Europe.
His two NBL seasons were quiet on paper: 3.2 points in 7 minutes a game, then 4.6 points in about 12 minutes, according to his career record. The flashes were there, though. In his first start, against Perth in November 2024, he had 13 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks.
How He Ended Up in Minnesota
Our video describes the Timberwolves as quietly landing him. The paperwork was busier than that. Chicago drafted him 45th overall on June 26, 2025. His rights went to the Lakers four days later and to Minnesota on July 6, and he signed a two-year two-way contract on July 9, per Spotrac. Three teams held his rights in ten days, and the one that kept him already employs the best defensive center of the last decade.
The Breakout Year in Iowa
The G League is where he grew up. In 42 games for the Iowa Wolves he averaged 14.8 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.5 blocks in 25 minutes, shooting 53.3 percent from the field and 75.6 percent at the line, per RealGM. The big nights were bigger:
- 18 points and 20 rebounds against Long Island on January 19, 2026.
- Back-to-back games against Texas of 21 points, 14 rebounds and 7 blocks, then 25 points, 10 rebounds and 6 blocks.
- A March in which he averaged 19.5 points, 11.8 rebounds and 5.2 blocks.
- 14 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocks in a playoff loss at Stockton.
He made his NBA debut against Philadelphia in February 2026 and had his best NBA game on April 13: 8 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocks in 20 minutes against New Orleans. At the 2026 Summer League he averaged 12.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks, with an 18-point game against Portland.
Scouting Report: Strengths and Weaknesses
What he does well
- Reach. A standing reach of 9 feet 6.5 inches, measured at the 2025 combine. He can touch within six inches of the rim flat-footed.
- Shot blocking. 2.5 blocks a game in Iowa, and more than five a game over his best month.
- Rebounding. Nearly nine a game in 25 minutes.
- A shot that is coming. He takes close to three three-pointers a game in the G League and made about 31 percent. For a 7’3″ teenager that is a real starting point.
What holds him back
- Defending in space. Pre-draft reports listed lateral quickness and switch defense as weaknesses, and a scouting note around his NBA debut said the same about his lower-body strength.
- Fouls and conditioning. Both flagged before the draft.
- Passing. Under one assist a game. The ball tends to stop with him.
- Free throws under pressure. 75.6 percent in Iowa, but 4 of 14 at the 2026 Summer League.
- The depth chart. He sits behind Rudy Gobert and first-round pick Joan Beringer, so NBA minutes will be scarce this season.
Could He Guard Wembanyama on the Perimeter?
That is the case our video makes, and the size half of it holds up. Zikarsky is one of the three tallest players in the NBA along with Wembanyama and Zach Edey, and nobody else his age combines that height with a 9’6″ reach.
The mobility half is not proven. The same scouting reports that praise his timing at the rim list foot speed and switching as his weak points, and he has never shared a floor with Wembanyama in a game that counted. Right now he is a rim protector who is learning to move, not a perimeter stopper. If the lateral quickness improves over the next two seasons, the idea becomes interesting. Until then it is a projection.
NBA Timeline and Verdict
Zikarsky’s two-way deal runs through this season, and he becomes a restricted free agent in 2027. One pre-draft projection put his best case as a starting rim-protecting center and his likely outcome as a rotation shot blocker. A year of G League production has moved him toward the better end of that range.
What to watch in 2026-27: whether he earns real minutes when Gobert sits, whether the three-point shot holds above 30 percent, and whether he can stay on the floor against smaller, faster lineups. He is 20. Centers this size usually take until 23 or 24 to settle, and he is ahead of that schedule.
Where Zikarsky ranks among the world’s young giants
Zikarsky is one of 16 Australians in our database of active 7-footers born in 2001 or later, and one of only 23 players in it listed at 7’3″ or taller. See the full list, searchable by name, team and country:
Heights and weights are listed or combine figures, not our own measurements. Statistics are from RealGM and his published career record; game details are from the reports linked above. Last checked 9 October 2026.