Arizona’s Motiejus Krivas named sleeper 2025 NBA Draft prospect by ESPN

Arizona center Motiejus Krivas appeared in all 36 games off the bench last season. But with starting center Oumar Ballo’s transfer portal departure, Krivas will have an opportunity to be the man in the middle for the Wildcats this upcoming season.

ESPN’s Jonathan Givony named Krivas as an under-the-radar prospect for the 2025 NBA Draft.

Krivas was still growing even after enrolling at the Tucson school; now pushing 7-foot-3, he had some outstanding moments suggesting he could develop into one of the best big men in college basketball with a Donovan Clingan-type rise as a sophomore. He has outstanding hands, long arms, a high skill level and impressive instincts on both ends of the floor. He’s all but guaranteed to be productive as a rebounder and interior scorer at Arizona next season, but we’ll see what type of strides he is able to make defensively and with his overall athleticism to get a better feel for where he fits into the draft equation in 2025.

Krivas finished his freshman season with the Wildcats averaging 12.1 minutes per game, 5.4 points and 4.2 rebounds. He also shot 55.4% from the field. He did not declare for the 2024 NBA Draft and chose to come back to Arizona for another season.

Ballo, who transferred to Indiana, started all 36 games played, averaging 25.9 minutes to go with 12.9 points and 10.1 rebounds per game.

Originally from Siauliai, Lithuania, Krivas played for Lithuania at the FIBA U20 European Championships that took place in Crete last summer, averaging 12.9 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.4 blocks and 2.0 assists over seven games. He also shot 54% from the floor in the tournament.

Krivas was a part of the EuroLeague’s Zalgiris II pro team’s NKL championship in 2023. During the season, he averaged 13.7 points, 9.8 rebounds, 1.6 blocks and 1.5 assists and was named the league’s best defender. He also led the league in rebounding and blocks.