NBA Draft Rumors: Bobi Klintman Is Quitting, Will Play In The NBL
The deadline for college basketball players who selected early entry in the 2023 NBA Draft to withdraw their names from the draft and return to school has passed two weeks early. So everyone assumed that the list of prospects available in the draft was basically worked out.
However, this turned out not to be the case.
Bobby Klintman, the 6-foot-10 forward from Wake Forest, withdrew his name from the 2023 NBA draft on Monday. As the deadline passes, he won’t be back at school, but instead, off to Australia to play for the Cairns Taipans in the NBL as part of the league’s Next Stars program, ESPN’s Jonathan Giffoni reports.
The big Swede, Giffoni noted, had a lot of interest in the league and was the 44th overall on FanSided’s Christopher Klein’s final big plate for this year’s draft. Here’s what Klein said about the Wake Forest producer.
Sporadic playing time at Wake Forest limited Bobby Klintman’s exposure to national fans. He’s got ways to improve and he’s already a 20-year-old as a freshman. Still, it’s not easy to find streamlined 6-foot-10 athletes who can hold onto the transition and navigate traffic off the rebound and shoot the three. It is of great value.
It was believed that Klintman could have returned to the Demon Deacons in 2023-24 to raise their stock and develop them further. Now he’s betting on his talent as he heads to Australia to secure this development in hopes of becoming a top prospect for the 2024 NBA draft.