After year in Australia, top-25 forward prospect plans to enter 2024 NBA Draft

Swedish forward Bobi Klintman, who spent the 2022-23 season with Wake Forest before heading to Australia in 2023-24 to play for the NBL’s Cairns Taipans, plans to enter the 2024 NBA Draft, he tells ESPN’s Jonathan Givony.

“I hope that NBA teams that watched me saw I wasn’t afraid to take on a challenge,” Klintman said. “The path I took is one only a few players are willing to take. It’s harder than the college route. Hopefully NBA teams saw that I’m tough. I’m ready to play through pain if needed. I wanted to prove I could excel playing a physical brand of basketball, and I believe I did that.”

Klintman, a 6-foot-10 combo forward, is currently ranked No. 22 on ESPN’s best-available prospects list. He is hoping to become the first Swedish player selected in the first round, Givony writes.

In 23 NBL games this season (21.3 MPG), Klintman averaged 9.7 PPG and 4.8 RPG while posting a .443/.357/.793 shooting line.

According to Givony, Klintman has intriguing upside due to his combination of size, length, athleticism and production. The 21-year-old was an early entrant last year, but was projected to be a second-round pick so he withdrew his name and tried to boost his stock by joining the NBL’s Next Stars program. It seems like the move paid off — he’s up 26 spots on ESPN’s list compared to 2023.