Rocco Zikarsky (born 11 July 2006) is an Australian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves (often referred to as the Wolves or T-wolves) are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Divisio ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA), on a

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with the

Iowa Wolves The Iowa Wolves are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Des Moines, Iowa, and are affiliated with the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Wolves play their home games at the Wells Fargo Arena and compete in the Western ...

of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the Minor league#Basketball, developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of ...

. He previously played for the

Brisbane Bullets The Brisbane Bullets are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL) based in Brisbane, Queensland. They competed from 1979 to 2008, and returned to the league in 2016. Brisbane were one of ten NBL ...

of the National Basketball League (NBL). He was drafted by the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

in the second round of the

2025 NBA draft The 2025 NBA draft was the 79th edition of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) annual draft. Like the 2024 draft, this draft took place over two nights. The draft consisted of 59 picks as opposed to the full 60 due to the New York Knick ...

Early life and career

Zikarsky was born in Hurstville (Sydney), New South Wales to German Olympic medal-winning swimmer

Björn Zikarsky Björn Zikarsky (born 1967) is a former freestyle swimmer from Germany, who won the bronze medal in the 4×100 m freestyle relay at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. He did so alongside Christian Tröger, his twin br ...

and Australian champion ironwoman Kylie Zikarsky. He grew up on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, exelled in Queensland representative teams and was a standout player at the NBA Global Academy in

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

. He attended

Brisbane Grammar School Brisbane Grammar School (BGS) is an Independent school, independent, fee charging, non-denominational, day school, day and boarding school for boys, located in Spring Hill, Queensland, Spring Hill, an inner suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Austra ...

throughout his early teenage years. In 2023, Zikarsky played for the

BA Centre of Excellence The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Australian Capital Territory, Bruce, Can ...

in the

NBL1 East NBL1 East, formerly the Waratah League, is a semi-professional basketball league in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2021, Basketball New South Wales partnered with the Nat ...

, averaging 9.9 points, six rebounds, and 2.3 blocks in seven games.

Professional career

Brisbane Bullets (2023–2025)

On 7 July 2023, Zikarsky signed with the

of the National Basketball League (NBL) as part of the NBL's Next Stars program. At 16 years old, he became the youngest player in the program's history. On 7 January 2024, he had six points and four blocks in 10 and-a-half minutes against the

Sydney Kings The Sydney Kings are an Australian men's professional basketball team competing in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL). The team is based in Sydney, New South Wales, and play their home games at Qudos Ba ...

. He played in 27 of the Bullets' 28 games in the 2023–24 season, averaging 3.2 points, 2.1 rebounds and one block on 59.7% shooting in seven minutes per game. Zikarsky returned to the Bullets for the

2024–25 NBL season The 2024–25 NBL season was the 47th season of the National Basketball League since its establishment in 1979. A total of ten teams contested in the 2024–25 season. The league extended its partnership with ESPN Australia. All games are availa ...

, entering his second season as one of the top prospects for the

. In the Bullets' season opener, Zikarsky played six minutes, scored four points and grabbed three rebounds. He struggled to break into the starting lineup ahead of fellow centre

Tyrell Harrison Tyrell Harrison (born 6 July 1999) is an Australian-New Zealand professional basketball player for the Brisbane Bullets of the National Basketball League (NBL). He represents New Zealand in international basketball competitions. Early life Ha ...

. On 29 November 2024, he made his first NBL start with Harrison out with illness, recording thirteen points, eight rebounds and three blocks in a 117–89 loss to the

Perth Wildcats The Perth Wildcats are an Australian professional basketball team based in Perth, Western Australia. The Wildcats compete in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Perth Arena, ...

Minnesota Timberwolves (2025–present)

Zikarsky nominated for the 2025 NBA draft on 30 April 2025 and later attended the NBA draft combine. He was selected with the 45th overall pick by the

. His draft rights were then immediately traded to the

. On July 9, 2025, he signed a

with the Timberwolves.

National team career

In 2022, Zikarsky played for Australia at the FIBA U16 Asian Championship and the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup. In 2024, he led Australia to victory at the Albert Schweitzer-Tournament, earning MVP honours. He averaged 18.7 points, 11 rebounds, and 2.9 blocks in 26 minutes per game on 73.1% shooting. Zikarsky debuted for the

Australian Boomers The Australia men's national basketball team, nicknamed the Boomers after the slang term for a male kangaroo, represents Australia in international basketball competition. Since the late 1980s, Australia has placed among the world elite teams, ...

during the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers.

Career statistics

NBL

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2023–24 , style="text-align:left;",

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, 27 , , 0 , , 7.0 , , .597 , , .000 , , .500 , , 2.1 , , .1 , , .1 , , 1.0 , , 3.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2024–25 , style="text-align:left;",

, 18 , , 1 , , 11.8 , , .524 , , .200 , , .571 , , 3.4 , , .3 , , .3 , , .6 , , 4.6

References

External links

Brisbane Bullets player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zikarsky, Rocco 2006 births Living people 21st-century Australian sportsmen Australian men's basketball players Australian people of German descent BA Centre of Excellence men's basketball players Brisbane Bullets players Centers (basketball) Chicago Bulls draft picks People educated at Brisbane Grammar School Sportspeople from the Sunshine Coast