Spanish sensation joins Wildcats as Next Star

The 19-year-old, described as the most successful youth player in history, has an incredible basketball resume.

The 208cm power forward/centre was named MVP of both the Under-19 and Under-17 FIBA World Cups in 2023 and 2022 respectively, as well as the best player in last year’s Under-18 FIBA European Championships.

Almansa was a member of Real Madrid’s Youth Academy for two years, before developing his game in the USA at Overtime Elite, and then playing for the G-League Ignite last season including a pair of games against the Wildcats in Las Vegas.

Izan (pronounced Ee-thahn) will now become the first Spanish player to become an NBL Next Star. 

It comes after the success of Alex Sarr, the Wildcats’ inaugural Next Star who went pick No.2 to Washington Wizards in Thursday’s NBA Draft on the back of a stunning debut season in the NBL.

"We are thrilled to welcome Izan and his family to the Perth Wildcats. Izan is a player we have long recruited, and to be able to attract a player of his calibre on the back of the success we had with Alex this past season is a true testament to our presence as a club on a global scale,” Wildcats GM of Basketball Operations, Danny Mills, said.

Almansa, a highly-skilled big man and strong rebounder who can handle the ball, has elite footwork and great touch around the basket, participated in this year’s NBA Draft Combine but decided to withdraw from this year’s draft and build his stock for 2025. 

“Seeing how well Alex did and how well things went for him, it just clears my mind and any doubts,” Almansa explained.

“Since the moment I withdrew from the draft, I knew I wanted to play for Perth.

“I would love to follow in his footsteps in becoming a lottery pick and also win a championship with the Wildcats.”

“It’s exciting news that Izan has put his faith in us moving forward,” Wildcats head coach John Rillie added.

“The success we had with Alex last year, now to have Izan join us, he will address some things that we wanted to fix up in the off-season, with rebounding being a big focus.

“We were fortunate enough to play against him during our G-League Ignite series and watched his junior stuff, so his rebounding, his motor are what stood out and he’s going to have great rim presence for us at both ends of the floor.”

NBL General Manager of Next Stars Recruitment, Liam Santamaria, felt the signing was a “massive coup” for the Next Stars program.

“Securing Izan’s signature is a massive coup for the Next Stars and further solidification of the confidence prospects have in the NBL and the program,” Santamaria said. 

“The strength of our development program is clear and has been highlighted after four Next Stars were selected at this year’s draft, making it nine Next Stars who have been drafted directly from the NBL to the NBA.”