Amid the excitement of the 2026 NBA Playoffs this week, there was also the story about how early entry numbers to the annual NBA Draft have come way, way down. Due to the rise of NIL and the player revenues it generates, going pro early to maximize one’s earning potential is no longer the urgent requirement it was once. For many, school is where the money is.
So high were the early entry numbers just three short years ago that more players slipped through the net. And the sheer volume of we’ll-draft-you-if-you-promise-you’ll-sign-a-two-way-contract declarations of college underclassmen in recent years may have seen one international early entrant slip through where he need not have.
When Nadir Hifi was not selected in the 2023 NBA Draft, it drew little attention at the time given his profile as an undersized scoring guard playing in France’s domestic leagues. Two years later, though, his rapid ascent has forced a reassessment of that evaluation. Frankly, he should have been picked – and may still play in the NBA one day.
Who Is Nadir Hifi?
Hifi, a 6’0 guard and French-Algerian national, has emerged as one of the most productive young perimeter scorers in European basketball. Playing for Paris Basketball – the team currently with former Minnesota Timberwolves general manager David Kahn as president, previously coached by NBA coaching alumni Tuomas Iisalo and Tiago Splitter, and currently home to former Cleveland Cavaliers forward Lamar Stevens – Hifi has taken on a primary offensive role in both LNB Pro A and EuroCup competition, impressing as a high-usage guard with a consistent scoring output.
During the 2023-24 season – his first after the draft overlook – Hifi averaged 15.7 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game in French LNB play, shooting 38.0% from three-point range on six attempts per night. His role expanded further in EuroCup competition, where he averaged 16.6 points per game, ranking as the competition’s fourth-leading scorer despite limited experience at that level.
Hifi’s production continued into the 2024–25 season, this time concurrent with a jump to the EuroLeague level. In his first season in that competition, Hifi scored 15.1 points per game in only 20.0 minutes a contest in a super-sub role, and has raised that number even higher to 18.9 points per game this season in only 22.3 minutes a contest.
The EuroLeague is replete with past, present and future NBA-calibre players, and Hifi – second in the competition in scoring behind only Sasha Vezenkov – is outscoring essentially all of them. He is in his home country, thriving, starring and making money. It has worked out better than the two-way contract/G League cycle that the second round of the draft has so routinely become, and has also allowed him to develop to new heights. Heights that are very high indeed.
Hifi’s Continued Ascent
Hifi’s shot profile is heavily weighted toward three-point attempts and pull-up jumpers, with a significant portion of his offense created off the dribble rather than through set plays. He can nonetheless create space against anybody and finish from anywhere, and although the occasional consequence of this is some forced looks, the bag is absolutely stacked. Hifi has agility, confidence, balance, speed and tremendous touch, and additionally uses that threat both as a playmaker and a decoy. He can cross over his own crossovers.
Despite this clear offensive ability, concerns about his size, defensive limitations and playmaking volume contributed to his omission from the draft. So too was the fact that he had played only for lower-caliber Pro A side Le Portel prior to his declaration, and had not been exposed to meaningful time in intracontinental competitions. Hifi was not widely projected as a viable NBA draft selection, as most 6’0 players are not, and did not receive significant pre-draft attention from NBA teams accordingly. To date, a 2024 summer league appearance with the Timberwolves is it.
Had he not declared early and stayed automatically eligible in 2024, though, there seems a very high chance that Hifi would have been a second-round pick somewhere. Since his time with Le Portel, his game has simply leveled up. While Hifi’s assist numbers remain modest for a primary ball-handler, his scoring efficiency has improved alongside a higher volume of attempts. His three-point percentage has remained above league average, and his free-throw rate has increased, indicating a greater ability to draw contact. There is a very high chance that Nadir Hifi is the best scoring alive today that you have never heard of.
One Of The Best Creators In The Game Today
As an NBA player, of course, Hifi would be constantly targeted on the defensive end. He is in the EuroLeague too, and despite active hands and some good awareness, Hifi struggles to negotiate all the contact required on that end. The 6’0 listing is generous.
As an NBA player, though, Hifi would also be a potent and viable scorer from day one. The efficiency would suffer from going up against NBA-sized trees on a nightly basis, but it was Splitter who said it the simplest and the best – Hifi really is one of the best shot creators there is.
There were only eight international early entrants in the 2023 NBA Draft who did not later withdraw, and of those eight, five (Victor Wembanyama, Bilal Coulibaly, James Nnaji, Rayan Rupert and Tristan Vukcevic) were drafted. Hifi was not, while players such as Tarik Biberovic were. Whether he ever plays in the NBA in the future or not, let it be known that if ever the USA play France in a high-profile international tournament game any time soon, and Hifi goes off in his inimitable Nadir Hifi way, you were warned. As were they.
The Player Everyone in the 2023 NBA Draft Missed