Bobi Klintman headed to Detroit Pistons

Cairns Taipans forward Bobi Klintman is officially a second round NBA Draft Pick, being selected #37 by the Minnesota Timberwolves before being traded to the Detroit Pistons this morning.

The 2024 NBA Draft was held over two days in New York, with the first round commencing 26 June at Barclays Centre and the second at ESPN’s Seaport District Studios, where Klintman was present in the green room with his family.  

Klintman joined the Taipans for the 2023-24 NBL season and averaged 9.7 points, 4.8 rebounds across 26 games, while also being part of the Club’s first NBA pre-season trip against Washington and Toronto.

The young Swedish sensation was born in Malmo and moved to the United States in 2021 to play at basketball powerhouse Sunrise Christian Academy.

He represented Sweden in the U20 European Championships in 2022 where he helped them to a 6-1 record and led in every major category, averaging 16 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and over 2 steals per game.

Klintman attended Wake Forest University where he averaged 8.5 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game while shooting 45 percent from the field, 41 percent from three and 75 percent from the free throw line in his final 11 games as a freshman.

The 21-year-old officially declared for this year’s Draft in March and was quick to acknowledge the ‘Orange Army’ during his time in Australia, as well as Head Coach Adam Forde.

“The fans have been unbelievable. I want to say thank you for believing in me. Your support means everything," he said. 

"To coach Fordey (Adam Forde), thank you for taking a chance on me and pushing me to be great.”

Taipans CEO Mark Beecroft said that Klintman made the most of his time down under. 

“Bobi quickly became a fan favourite and made a big effort with our community – that is very important to us, and we loved how much he embraced our values. The Pistons have secured themselves a high character player and person.

“We always knew that we were just a step in his journey, but it was very cool to see Cairns represented in the NBA Draft in front of a massive international audience.

“We thank him for choosing Cairns – this club will be lifelong fans of Bobi Klintman.”

The 2024-25 NBA season is set to begin in October, while the Taipans will host their first home game of the 2024-25 NBL season on 28 September.

Memberships are available now – get in this weekend for an EOFY discount! Ends Monday 1 July.